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DECK AND PORT; 



OB, 



INCIDENTS # 0F A CRUISE 



UNITED STATES FKIGATE CONGRESS 



TO 



CALIFORNIA. 



WITH SKETCHES OF RIO JANEIRO, VALPARAISO, LIMA, HONOLULU, 
AND SAN FRANCISCO. 



BY 

REV. WALTER COLTON, U. S. N., 

AUTHOR OF " SHIP AND SHORE," ETC. 



NEW YORK: 
PUBLISHED BY A. S. BARNES & CO., 

NO. 51 JOHN-STREET. 
CINCINNATI:— H. W. DERBY & CO. 

1854. 



*Gl3 



y&$& 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year Eighteen Hundred and fifty, 

By A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



Stereotyped bt 

RICHABD C. VALENTINE, 

New York 

Printer, 
not 51 John-street, comer of Dutch. 



f . / &■* 



TO 

THOMAS I. WHARTON, ESQ. 

OF PHILADELPHIA, 

©I)t0 l)olume 

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
BY HIS FRIEND 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



On joining the United States frigate Con- 
gress, fitting for sea, at Norfolk, and destined 
to the Pacific, I commenced a journal, in which 
I sketched down the incidents of each day, as 
they occurred. It was more a whim of the 
hour, than any purpose connected with the 
public press. It was a diverting experiment 
on the monotony of a sea-life ; was continued 
because it had been begun — and the present 
volume is the result. The streamlet flows 
from gathered drops. 

I send it to the press as it was written, ex- 
cept the division into chapters, which has been 
made at the suggestion of the publishers, who 
perhaps, think the yarn will reel better if the 



PREFACE. 



thread be broken. It undoubtedly contains 
passages which may seem light and irrelevant ; 
but a diary has privileges, in this respect, 
which are not extended to compositions of a 
graver character. He who gathers what the 
chance wind may shake from the trees of his 
garden, will find some leaves as well as fruit in 
his basket ; and he may find there the nest of 
some insect that has a sting in it, but this he 
has no right to send to market. He may send 
the leaves — perhaps their sear hues may set off 
the bloom of his fruit, as a wrinkle the rouge 
through which age sometimes seeks to blush 
back again into youth. 

The members of Congress are responsible 
for any typographical errors which the volume 
may contain, for they so lumbered the mails, 
between Washington — -where the proofs were 
sent — and New York, with their speeches, that 
my publishers had about as little chance of 
getting a corrected copy through this travel- 



PREFACE. 



ling Babel, as they would have had in finding 

a righteous man in Sodom after Lot had left. 

I know it seems cruel to roll the responsibility 

of blunders on a body of men who have errors 

enough of their own to answer for. But the 

evil one himself is held accountable for the 

sins of half the world. 

Having thus conveniently disposed of all 

responsibility, I leave my Deck and Port to 

the wave and strand, where they belong. 

Wreckers will receive no salvage from me — 

they must make the most of the floating 

planks. I only ask them not to scuttle the 

craft before she strikes. 

w. o. 



NOTE. 

The incidents which connected the officers of the Pacific Squadron and of the 
army, and many other prominent persons, with public events in California, are not 
reached by the Diary of this volume ; they fall within the three years which are 
reserved for another work, entitled " Three Years in California." 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. — Preparations for the voyage. 

Orders to the Congress. — Passengers' poop-cabin. — Passing U. S. 
ship Pennsylvania. — Divine service. — Waiting the wind. — Rip- 
raps. — Internal arrangements. — Library of the crew. — Ship 
cheered. — Departure of the pilot ....Page 13 

CHAPTER II. — Passage from Norfolk to Rio de Janeiro. 

A culprit. — Corporal punishments. — Divine service. — A bird. — A 
gale. — Grandeur of the Gulf stream. — Man missing. — Tracts on 
board. — Waterspout. — Life at sea. — An eclipse. — The sick- 
bay. — Moral mechanism of a man-of-war. — Speaking a brig. — 
Departure of Mr. Beale. — Death of Spillier. — Astor-House 
sailor. — Universalist chaplain. — A petrel. — Speaking a ship. — 
Departure of Mr. Norris. — Crossing the equator. — Southern 
constellations. — A man lost. — Land-ho ! 22 

CHAPTER III— Rio de Janeiro. 

Bay of Rio. — Scenery. — Aspect of the city. — Royal palace and 
chapel. — Lancers and baby. — Miseracordia.— Aqueduct.— Morn- 
ing ride. — Botanic garden. — Tea-plant. — The Sabbath in Rio. — 
Museum. — Nunnery. — Jealousy of husbands. — A pompous fu- 
neral. — The Plymouth. — Hon. Henry A. Wise. — Slave-trade. — 
Marriages and domestic arrangements. — Political condition of 
the Brazilians. — Treatment of the slaves. — Religion. — Washer- 
women. — San Antonio. — Climate. — The unknown couple. — 
Diamonds. — Farewell to Rio 86 



CHAPTER IV.— Passage from Rio to Cape Horn. 

Getting under way. — The letter-bag. — Runaway sailor. — Isle of 
St. Catharine. — Pamperoes. — The shotted gun. — Loss of our 
coon. — The sailor and shark. — General quarters at night. — 
Fireworks in the sea. — The phantom ship. — Patagonians. — 
The Falkland Islands. — The captured albatros. — Terrific gale. 
— Condition of our frigate — The sailor's burial. — The cape of 
storms 125 



10 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V.— Passage from Cape Horn to Valparaiso 

Gale. — Habits of the albatros and penguin.— the sea off Cape 
Horn.— Sleet and hail— Farewell to the Cape.— Directions for 
doubling the Cape. — Gale in the Pacific.— Appearance of the 
stars. — A rainbow. — Divine service. — The razor at sea. — The 
little bark.— Plum pudding and tripe.— The Cordilleras.— Ar- 
rival at Valparaiso Page 156 

CHAPTER VI. — Sketches of Valparaiso. 

Aspect of the city. — Groups on the quay. — Chilian horsemanship. 
— The women. — Huts of the natives. — American and English 
society.— Opera-house.— The tertulia. — Mode of travelling. — 
Police of the city. — Visits from the shore. — Feudal system. — 
The clergy. — The Bible in Chili. — The confessional.— Burial 
ground. — The Indian mother. — Political condition of Chili. — 
Farewell to Valparaiso 191 

CHAPTER VII.— Passage from Valparaiso to Callao. 

Elare up of the Pacific— Songs of seamen.— Sailors on shore.— 
Loss of the Samson of our ship.— The setting sun at sea.— Our 
Astor-House sailor. — The mad poet of the crew. — Land ho !— 
Aspect of Callao. — Appearance of the natives. — The burial 
Me • 219 

CHAPTER VIII.— Sketches of Lima. 

Incidents of the road. — The grand plaza. — Shops and houses.— 
The saya y manto. — American lady. — Mixture of races. — De- 
meanor of girls and boys. — Procession on Palm Sunday. — Con- 
vent of the Franciscans. — Doctors of Lima.— Good Friday. — 
The Last Supper. — Pilate's court. — Garden of Gethsemane.— 

Close of Lent Jubilations. — Climate. — An officer in prison. — 

Lawyers.— The Indian's eyrie. — Lottery. — Bull-fight 234 

CHAPTER IX.— Sketches of Lima. 

Education of females. — Marriages. — Lapses from virtue.— The 
sunset bell. — Silk factory in a convent. — Habits of the Indians. 
— The half wedlock.— Blind pedler.— Protestant youth in Li- 
ma. — Religion of the Limanians. — Intrigues at court. — Modes 
of living. — The Zampas. — Churches. — Indian doctors. — Fruits 
of the country. — Old Spanish families. — Masses for the repose 
of the soul 265 



CONTENTS. 11 



CHAPTER X. — Passage from Callao to Honolulu. 

Departure from Callao. — The rum smuggler. — Sunset. — Sea-birds. 
— A sailor's defence. — General quarters. — Spirit ration. — The 
sailor and religion. — The flag. — Sagacity of the rat. — The 
cloud. — Calms and showers. — Religious tracts. — Constellations. 
— Trade-winds.— Conduct of the crew. — Moon in the zenith. — 
Lay sermon. — Funeral. — Land ho! Page 299 

CHAPTER XI. — Sketches of Honolulu. 

Bay of Honolulu. — Kanacka funeral. — The missionaries. — Huts 
and habits of the natives. — Taro-plant. — Roast dog. — School of 
the young chiefs. — Ride in the country. — The Mausoleum. — 
Cocoanut-tree. — Canoes. — Heathen temple. — King's chapel. — 
Ride to Ewa. — Father Bishop.— His sable flock 328 

CHAPTER XII.— Sketches of Honolulu. 

The king and court. — American commissioner. — Royal residence. 
— The salt lake. — Surf sports of the natives. — Gala day. — The 
women on horseback. — Sailor's equestrianism. — The old man 
and the children at play. — Address of Com. Stockton. — Capt. 
La Place. — His Jesuits and brandy. — Lord George Paulet .... 348 

CHAPTER XIII. — Passage from Honolulu to Monterey. 

The moral pharos. — The Mormon ship. — Bible class. — The sea- 
hen. — Our insane sailor. — Fourth of July. — Profaneness at sea. 
— Evening prayer-meeting. — Funeral. — Target firing. — Reli- 
gious condition of the crew. — Anchor under Monterey 36*7 

CHAPTER XIV.— Glances into California. 

Sailors on shore as soldiers. — The bear flag. — Capt. Fremont and 
armed band. — Departure of Admiral Seymour. — San Francis- 
co. — Aspect of the town. — Habits of the people. — Spirit of 
speculation. — Gambling. — Effects of the gold mines. — Past and 
present condition of the country 386 




C.HOfcN^ 



DECK AND POET, 



CHAPTER I. 

PREPARATIONS TOR THE YOTAGE. 

ORDERS TO THE CONGRESS. PASSENGERS' POOP-CABIN. PASSING U. S. SHIP 

PENNSYLVANIA. DIVINE SERVICE. WAITING THE WIND. RIP-RAPS. 

INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS. LIBRARY OF THE CREW. SHIP CHEERED. 

DEPARTURE OF THE PILOT. 

To sea ! to sea! thy soft shore life 

Must wrestle on the deck, 
Where winds and waters meet in strife, 

To revel o'er the wreck. 

While enjoying the luxury of sea-bathing at Sa- 
chem's Head, I received an order to report for duty 
on board the U. S. Frigate Congress, fitting for sea 
at' Norfolk. The order came as unexpectedly as 
thunder out of a cloudless sky. But never having 
declined an order of the department during the many 
years that I have been in the navy, I determined not 
to dishonor a good rule on this occasion, and in- 
formed the secretary that I should report agreeable 
to his instructions, but requested the indulgence of 
a few days in which to make my preparations. The 
reply was, that the ship was ready for sea, that the 

2 



14 DECK AND PORT. 



other officers were on board, and I must hasten at 
once to my post. My trunks were immediately 
packed, my books boxed, and in twenty-four hours I 
was on board the Congress. Home, and all that 
makes that home dear, exchanged at once for the 
bustle of a man-of-war ! It was like throwing a bird 
from its nest upon the whirlwind : not that I have 
any thing in common with a bird, unless it be a sort 
of involuntary cheerfulness when the storm-cloud 
has passed. I have never yet met with a picture all 
the features of which were dark. There is a star 
even in the night of the grave. 

I found the frigate nearly ready for sea. The 
honorable secretary, as if to hasten our departure, 
paid us a farewell visit. We returned the compli- 
ment in a parting salute. We were now ready to 
weigh anchor and make sail, when an order came 
for us to take out as passengers a commissioner and 
a consul to the Sandwich Islands, with their families, 
twelve individuals in all. The question was, where 
shall they be accommodated ? Every part of the 
ship was already occupied. Another order soon 
came for the construction of a poop-cabin. Some 
thirty carpenters were immediately set at work, but 
its completion occupied three weeks. In the mean 
time some of the officers, whose homes were less re- 
mote, had an opportunity of visiting their families. 
I was enabled to finish my preparations, complete 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 15 

my wardrobe, and take a decent leave of one from 
whom I had been hurried away as the culprit, 

" Who fitted the halter and traversed the cart, 
And often looked back as if loath to depart." 

Saturday, Oct. 25, 1845. The poop-cabin being 
finished, commissioner, consul, and families, quarter- 
ed in it, stores laid in, the commodore on board, an 
order was given to unmoor. In a few minutes our 
anchors were up and we were proceeding under a 
light land-breeze towards the sea. Passing the Penn- 
sylvania, where she lay in her majesty and strength, 
we gave her a parting salute, which she returned in 
thunder from her frowning batteries. She frowned 
not on us ; she seemed to grieve, " if aught inani- 
mate e'er grieves," that she must lie there and rot, 
and we be bounding over the billows. She seemed 
like a daring eagle that has never been permitted to 
soar into its element and unfurl its strong pinions 
on the storm. The Titan chained to the Caucasian 
rock stayed his proud heart on his past triumphs, but 
this noble ship perishes without a solitary achieve- 
ment to relieve her indignant doom. On reaching 
Hampton Roads the wind came out ahead, and we 
were obliged to let go our anchors. An air of dis- 
appointment was visible among the crew. I once 
started on a journey in a splendid carriage, broke 
down in sight of my own home, and learned a lesson 



16 DECK AND PORT. 



of submission that will never wholly desert me. 
Calamities are our best instructors. 

Sunday, Oct. 26. The wind still ahead. This 
being the sabbath, we had divine service. The 
crew were attentive: not the rustle of a hand or 
foot disturbed the stillness ; the speaker's voice only- 
broke the silence of the deck. The text was the in- 
junction of the prophet, " Go up now, look towards 
the sea." The object of the speaker was to sketch 
the stern magnificence of the ocean as illustrating 
the majesty of God ; to exhibit the effects of an 
ocean life on the social and moral character of man ; 
and to inculcate the great lesson, that into whatever 
climes we may penetrate, through whatever seas we 
may pass, we cannot escape from the presence of 
the Deity. The effects of our moral teachings may 
in many instances never be revealed in this life, but 
the time will come, when they will be fully recog- 
nised. They are like underground streams which 
will yet rush to the light. 

Monday, Oct. 27. Still in Hampton Roads. The 
day has passed with scarce a breath of wind from 
any quarter. The sun has set in gorgeous splendor. 
Evening has spread its purple light over sea and 
land. Only here and there a cloud floats through 
the star-lit depths of heaven. The fortress of the 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 17 

old Rip-raps lifts its giant form in savage grandeur 
from the wave ; and yet the moonlight sleeps upon 
it so lovingly, you half forget its chained thunder. 
It seems as some submarine monster that had shoved 
its head up through the sea, to glance at the won- 
ders of earth. Gaze on, thou Titan of the deep! 
Thou nearest not the death-knell which shakes the*, 
heart of nations : thou seest only the verdure which 
waves in fragrant life and beauty over the dust of 
ages. Thou heedest not the sorrows of the millions 
that have sunk to the silent shroud. Earth is a 
charnel-house, but thou knowest it not. It is death's 
empire. Go look into some world where sin hath 
not been, and where man has not marred the works 
of his Maker. 

Tuesday, Oct. 28. Our ship still riding in the 
Roads, with forty sail around wind-bound like our- 
selves. We went to general quarters at ten o'clock, 
exercised the guns, passed powder, called away the 
boarders, and went through all the forms of a real 
engagement at sea. It is singular what an enthusi- 
asm even a mimic battle can create; what then 
must be the excitement of the reality ! The sailors 
are proud of our frigate ; and well may they be ; she 
is a splendid specimen of naval architecture. For 
capacity, strength, and harmony of proportions, she 
stands in her class without a rival in the world. 

2* 



18 DECK AND PORT. 



She is so much a favorite in the service that one old 
sailor travelled all the way from Pensacola to Nor- 
folk in the mail stage, and at his own expense, to 
join her. We had our complement of seamen, but 
his was so strong a case he could not be denied. 

We number about five hundred souls, all told; 
Jiave laid in provisions and fuel for five months, with 
fifty thousand gallons of water, and sails and rigging 
sufficient to replace what is now in use, should emer- 
gency demand. How such a mass of life and mate- 
rial can be brought within a frigate's capacity, and 
yet leave " scope and verge" enough for action and 
repose, is a mystery which can be comprehended 
only by those who are versed in nautical economy. 
The housewife who grumbles over the intrusion of 
an additional piece of furniture, should look into a 
man-of-war, and she will go home with the convic- 
tion that she can sleep quite comfortably in the 
cradle with her infant. How beautiful is an infant 
waking out of its sweet slumber, and opening its 
soft blue eyes upon the face of its mother! But 
what has this to do with our getting under way ? 

Wednesday, Oct. 29. Our anchors still sleep in 
the sands of Hampton Roads — a slumber which we 
now think the morrow will break. The wind has 
been light and varying, but inclining towards the - 
right quarter, though hesitatingly, as a diffident 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 19 

youth in his first declaration of love. How the 
words on such an occasion will stick in a man's 
throat ! — worse, indeed, than Macbeth's prayer, try- 
ing to struggle up from the grasp of his guilty con- 
science. 

I have been occupied to-day in arranging in suit- 
able cases the library of the crew — a library com- 
prising between three and four hundred volumes. 
For many of the miscellaneous and religious books 
in this library I am indebted to the Presbyterian 
Board of Publication, to the Sunday School Union, 
to the American Tract Society, and to the liberality 
of Commodore Stockton. My acknowledgments are 
also due to the American Bible Society for a dona- 
tion of Bibles adequate to the wants of the crew. 
No national ship ever left a port of the United States 
more amply provided with books suited to the habits 
and capacities of those on board. This desideratum 
has been supplied, so far as the crew is concerned, 
with comparatively little aid from the department. 
The government furnishes the sailor with grog to 
burn up his body, a Christian liberality with books 
to save his soul. The whisky ration is a curse to 
the service, and a damning blot on our national 
legislation. 

Thursday, Oct. 30. The long looked for breeze 
came at last. It was a south-wester ; and at day- 



20 DECK AND PORT. 



light this morning we weighed anchor and got under 
way. When we had cleared the capes of Old Vir- 
ginia, all hands were called, and Commodore Stock- 
ton delivered the following brief and appropriate 
address to the officers and crew : — 

" Captain Du Pont and officers — 

" Your reputation in the service is a sufficient 
guaranty that the cruise before us will enlist your 
highest energies and zeal. 

"Men— , 

" Your conduct since you have been on board this 
ship justifies the strongest confidence in your fidelity. 
Above us floats the flag of our country; to your 
•patriotism and undaunted valor I intrust its honor, 
dearer to me than life. We now sail for California 
and Oregon, and then, where it may please Heaven.'* 

. Then, turning to the chaplain, he said — 

" You will offer up our prayers to Almighty God 
for his protection." 

This service performed, the broad pennant was^ 
saluted, the snip cheered, and the band struck up 
" Hail Columbia." 

The whole ceremony was well calculated to inspire 
a jealous regard for the honor of our flag, and impress 
sentiments of dependence on the divine protection — 



PREPARATIONS FOR THE VOYAGE. 21 

so well becoming those who go down to the sea in 
ships, who do business on the great waters, and who 
see the wonders of the Lord in the deep. 

Commodore Stockton invited the officers into the 
cabin to an elegant entertainment. Sentiments 
connected with country, home, and those left behind, 
passed feelingly around. The pilot now took his de- 
parture with our letter-bag. How many affections, 
hopes, and fears, that little hasty mail took back ! If 
you would know how dear home is, start on a three 
years' cruise. How the heart clings to the living, 
recalls the dead, and restores the forgotten! How 
all animosities die and give place to love ! I do not 
wonder the Greek and Roman dreaded exile more 
than death. What is earth without a home ? - 

Farewell ! the shore is fading fast, 

The wind is piping free, 
The pennant, from our gallant mast, 

Points to the dark blue sea. 



22 



CHAPTER II. 

PASSAGE FROM NORFOLK TO RIO DE JANEIRO. 

A CULPRIT. CORPORAL PUNISHMENTS. DIVINE SERVICE. A BIRD. A 

GALE. — GRANDEUR OF THE GULF STREAM. — MAN MISSING. TRACTS ON 

BOARD. WATER-SPOUT. LIFE AT SEA. AN ECLIPSE. — THE SICK BAY. 

MORAL MECHANISM OF A MAN-OF-WAR. SPEAKING A BRIG. DEPARTURE 

OF MR. BEALE. DEATH OF SPILLIER.— ASTOR-HOUSE SAILOR. UNIVER- 
SALIS! CHAPLAIN. A PETREL. SPEAKING A SHIP. DEPARTURE OF MR. 

NORRIS. — CROSSING THE EQUATOR. SOUTHERN CONSTELLATIONS. A MAN 

LOST. — LAND HO ! 

"The ship was cheered, the harbor cleared, 
And merrily did we drop 
Below the kirk, below the hill, 
Below the lighthouse lop." 

Friday, Oct. 31. A brilliant soft atmosphere; a 
light breeze from the southwest ; average log, three 
knots ; sounded in thirty-six fathoms ; a sand and 
shell bottom ; exercised the men at the guns from 10 
to 12 o'clock ; loaded the guns a little before sunset. 
One of the crew, after nightfall, watched his opportu- 
nity and knocked down a marine. The aggressor is 
one of those hardened fellows where the hope of re- 
formation seems to despair in its work. He was 
flogged but a few days since for an aggravated 
offense. He has cruised before, and been notorious 
for his bad conduct. The best thing that could be 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 23 



done with him would be to turn him out of the ship, 
but the law don't allow this. The next best thing is 
to try him by a court-martial, and award him a pun- 
ishment that will linger with terror in his memory. 
I am opposed to severity when milder measures will 
avail ; but leniency to the incorrigible is destructive 
of discipline. 

Corporal punishments are opposed to the spirit of 
the age ; but he would be worthy a monument who 
could invent an adequate substitute on board a man- 
of-war. It is easy to pull down a house, but not so 
easy to build another on its ruins. Still the power 
to inflict corporal punishment is so liable to abuse, 
and is so often abused, *I do not wonder public senti- 
ment seems to demand its abolition. Could sailors 
be brought thoroughly under moral influences, it 
might be easily dispensed with. Virtue has motives 
and impulses to good conduct stronger than those 
ever wielded by physical force. The best obedience 
is that which flows from moral rectitude. 

Saturday, Nov. 1. The high temperature of the 
water, which my boy brought me this morning for 
bathing, indicated that we were in the Gulf Stream. 
On inquiry, I ascertained that during the night we 
had penetrated near to its centre. This great river 
of the ocean holds its majestic course in seeming in- 
dependence of the vast and violent elements through 



24 DECK AND PORT. 



which it moves. Storms may howl over it, and con- 
flicting currents fiercely assail it, but it moves on in 
the tranquil greatness of its unabated strength. It 
never stops to parley with its adversaries, proposes 
no terms, accepts none ; but like a brave champion 
of truth, moves steadily to its goal. In its equa- 
nimity, its fidelity to one great purpose, and its tri- 
umph, the God of Nature utters a moral lesson in the 
ear of nations. 

Our coursers, topsails, top-gallant, and studding- 
sails are set to a free, fresh wind from the southwest, 
and we are making ten knots the hour. Our ship has 
been too much by the stern, but the removal of four 
of her spar-deck guns from her after to her forward 
ports, has brought her more by the head, and she 
sails better. Her constructor conjectured that if 
deep, she would sail better by being at least fifteen 
inches by the head. His conjecture turns out to be 
correct. She is now moving through the waters as 
if she had an exulting pride in her occupation. I do 
not wonder sailors regard a fast ship as a thing of 
life, and speak of her with an affection applicable 
only to the higher attributes of humanity. She is 
indeed the highest triumph of human skill — the 
noblest representative of art. 

Sunday, Nov. 2. The Sabbath. The force of 
the wind -and the roll of*the ship might have excused 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 25 



divine service with those disposed to find an apology 
for such omission. But we have commenced the 
cruise with the determination to have service every 
Sabbath when it is at all practicable. Regularity in 
this duty promotes regularity in every other. The 
discipline of a man-of-war lies in the fact that noth- 
ing is omitted that ought to be done. Besides what 
more appropriate for men, tost on the howling waste 
of the ocean, than a recognised dependence on that 
Being who binds the elements at his will ; who can 
say to the rushing storm and chainless wave, hith- 
erto shall ye come and no further, and here shall 
your proud strength be stayed. 

Last evening a bird flew on board. He had been 
driven far out to sea in a gale, and now timidly 
sought our spars as a place of rest. No one was 
allowed to molest him for the night ; in the morning, 
turning his eyes in that direction where the land lay, 
though some three hundred miles off, he bade us 
adieu and disappeared in the distant horizon. A safe 
passage to him and a speedy return to those left 
behind. He too has his home, and those there who 
make that home dear ; and though but a bird of the 
wild wood, he shares the benevolent regard of One 
whose care extends to the falling sparrow, and who 
hears the young raven when it cries. If the bird 
whose wing is thrown on the wind to-day, and is 
furled in death to-morrow, may share the guardian- 
ft 



26 DECK AND PORT. 



ship of the great Parent of all, much more man with 
his boundless sympathies and immortal hopes. 

Monday, Nov. 3. The wind last night hauled 
several points to the east, and forced us north of our 
true course. We have been waiting for it to haul 
back, but it seems to have settled down as if deter- 
mined to make itself at home in its new quarter. 
Well, let it stay there, if it will, and I will ponder these 
lines which I find inclosed in my last letter from 
Jiome. 

THE SAILOR'S WIFE. 

Thou o'er the world and I at home, 
But one may linger, the other may roam, 

Yet our hearts -will flee o'er the sounding sea, 
Mine to thy bosom, and thine to me. 

Thy lot is the toil of a roving life, 
Chances and changes, sorrow and strife — 

Yet is mine more drear to linger here — 
In a ceaseless, changeless war with fear. 

I watch the sky by the stars' pale light, 
Till the day-dawn breaketh on gloomy night, 

And the wind's low tone hath a dreary moan 
That comes to my heart as I weep alone. 

With the morning light, oh ! would I could see 
Thy white sail far on the breaking sea, 

And welcome thee home, o'er the wild wave's foam, 
And bid thee no more from my side to roam. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 27 

Tuesday, Nov. 4. The sun rose this morning 
with that /look of darkness and flame which the 
monarch of the seasons puts on when tempests are 
abroad in his domain. Yet he drove his flashing 

o 

chariot up the lowering steep of clouds with a fleet- 
ness and force which indicated no disposition to re- 
sign his sceptre. The glance of his eye kindled the 
ridges of the black masses around into lines of fire, 
and revealed the caverns of darkness which stretched 
away in their unfathomed folds. The roused ocean 
threw up its howling billows as if in stern defiance. 
It was evident we were to have a conflict of the 
giant elements. They rushed into the battle like 
foes who neither give nor crave quarter. 

The roar of the tempest above, the thunder of the 
sea below, the careering squadrons of clouds, and the 
dark defiant waves, as they rushed into combat, add- 
ed sublimity to terror. Our ship was not an idle 
spectator ; she plunged into the thickest of the fight, 
and with wings furled and a steady keel, presented 
her frowning mass of exulting courage and strength ; 
she trembled but not with fear, she wavered but not 
from want of valor. Wave after wave of the great 
ocean rolled its massive strength against her, but she 
met each successive shock with dauntless intrepid- 
ity. Night at last closed over the conflict, and the 
lightnings lit the watch-fires of the hostile squadrons. 
The moon broke through a, rift in the black masses, 



28 DECK AND PORT. 



and cast her soft light on the savage features of the 
scene. So rose she over Thermopylae, and Waterloo, 
and blushed at the havoc of human ambition. 

Wednesday, Nov. 5. The gale of yesterday in- 
creasing at night-fall, we sent down our fore and 
mizen top-gallant masts, and put our ship under 
close-reefed main top-sail, fore storm stay-sail, fore 
and mizen try-sails. Thus she lay like a crouched 
lion. Darkness was on the face of the deep, save 
here and there, where a falling meteor threw its 
transient light on the foaming crest of some towering 
wave. As the soaring billow combed over, sheets 
of lighted foam rolled down into the intervening gulfs 
of night, and then succeeded a darkness that might 
be felt. As the heavy bell struck .the hours, the 
voices of the watch from different parts of the ship 
came like broken tones from unseen sources. The 
hollow sound of the storm through the rigging, made 
it seem as if the very winds were pouring our death- 
dirge. 

But a little after midnight the gale broke. It 
broke suddenly as the hope of the wicked at death. 
But the driving waves still remained, dark and tu- 
multuous as the convulsions of guilt in despair. Our 
ship, without wind or sail to steady her, plunged 
blindly about. She had scarcely a dry foot of plank 
in her, and yet multitudes slept soundly that night. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 29 



Such is life at sea. The resistless gale and the dead 
calm follow each other with the fickleness of an un- 
weaned child over its toys. And proud man submits, 
as well he may ; for he cannot help it. We are al- 
ways reconciled to that which is remediless. Even 
death seems to lose its terrors in its inevitability. 

Thursday, Nov. 6. At quarters, this morning, 
one of the crew, John Amey, was missing at his post. 
His name was called through the ship, but there was 
no reply. All the decks and the hold were searched, 
but he was nowhere to be found. He was last seen 
between seven and eight bells of the mid-watch. 
He had not been well since we left Norfolk, had 
complained of his head, of an oppression on the 
brain, and had evinced at times, in the incoherency of 
his remarks, symptoms of insanity. He had most un- 
doubtedly, in a paroxysm of this disease, jumped out 
of one of the ports, and perished. The watch might 
perhaps have heard him as he fell into the water, but 
for the high sea that was running at the time. 

He had shipped from Philadelphia, where he left a 
sister, of whom he often spoke with tenderness and 
affection. He was prompt and faithful in the dis- 
charge of his duties, and had been promised promo- 
tion. But he is now where the frowns or caresses 
of fortune can never reach him. His sister will long 
wait and watch for his return, and will long doubt 

3* 



30 DECK AND PORT. 



in her amazement and tears the story of his death. 
But he has gone to that silent bourne from which 
nor wave, nor sail, nor mariner, has e'er returned, 
nor one fond farewell word traversed the waters 
back. He will reappear no more, till the signal- 
trump of the archangel shall summon the sea to give 
up her dead. He will then, wrapped in the winding- 
sheet of the wave, appear at that tribunal where infi- 
nite rectitude will sit in judgment on the deeds of 
men. 

Friday, Nov. 7. All hands were mustered this 
morning on the spar-deck by order of the commo- 
dore, and the untimely death of poor Amey was an- 
nounced to the crew. The chaplain was called 
upon for such remarks as the melancholy event sug- 
gested. After briefly sketching the characteristics 
of the deceased, his fidelity to duty, his love for his 
sister, the awful malady of which he died, he told the 
crew that the sad event impressed one lesson with 
fearful force upon all, and that was the necessity of 
a preparation for death and the scenes that await us 
beyond, while life and reason remain, — that as no 
one knows the hour or circumstances of his death, 
his only security lies in that thorough preparation 
which no event can surprise. The crew listened 
with attention, as they always do on such occasions ; 
but impressions connected with death are often tran- 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 31 



sient with the sailor. His wild adventurous life is 
so full of tragedy, that the dead drop through it like 
pebbles through a stormy wave. 

If you would see the most deep and wide impression 
that death ever produces, go to a quiet country village. 
You will hear it whispered from house to house, that 
Henry or Mary is dead ! No long array of mourn- 
ing-carriages darkens the street' ; but a silent train is 
there, moving in sympathy and grief to the grave. 
All gather around that narrow cavern, and as the 
coffin rumbles down to its rest, tears from the aged 
and the young fall thick and fast, and each, as he 
returns to his home, feels that a joy has been 
extinguished, that a light has fled from his own 
hearth. 

Saturday, Nov. 8. Last evening, while a fine 
breeze was filling our sails, and the white caps were 
dancing under the light of the stars, a cloud was seen 
emerging above the bright line of the horizon. It 
sailed steadily up the blue cope, and at last stationed 
its dark distended form directly over our ship. All 
eyes were turned to it, expecting a storm to explode 
from its folds. But its contents fell in a sheet of 
water that instantly drenched us all, and utterly an- 
nihilated the breeze. The poor dog-vane fell mo- 
tionless, as if suspended in a grave. The cloud now 
dissolved, the light of the stars streamed down 



32 DECK AND PORT. 



through the radiant depths of air, and the crushed 
wind, like an unhorsed rider, resumed its career. 

Man, when frustrated in his purposes, slowly, if 
ever, recovers his courage and force ; but nature 
instantly moves on again in her exulting strength. 
What to her are crumbling temples and mouldering 
pyramids ? She spreads her verdure over the ruins 
of nations ! In her august domain empires rise and 
fall with as little sensation as leaves put forth and 
perish. She hushes the great dirge of human sor- 
row. Her winds waltz over the graves of ages. All 
are hers, and all, from the stars that tremble in the 
blue vault of heaven to the groves of coral which 
wave over the pavements of the unsounded sea, feel 
the pulses which throb in her mighty heart. What, 
then, frail man, is thy pride amid these stupendous 
attributes and achievements of nature ? — a bubble 
that breaks amid the efernal thunders of the deep. 

Nov. 9. Sunday, and a soft breeze from the south- 
west. The sparkling wave disturbs not the even 
tenor of our keel. Our ship swings only to the 
slow and solemn undulations of the ocean. No flap- 
ing sail disturbed the quietude of our worship. We 
sung " old hundred," the band performing the instru- 
mental part. How impressive on the sounding sea 
is that old majestic tune ! It seems in harmony with 
the many-voiced waves around. The organ-tones 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 33 



of the mighty deep roll it to heaven with a fullness 
and power which no cathedral choir can pour from 
its melodious recesses. Nature through all her vast 
domains awakens and sustains the devotions of the 
human heart. Our pilgrim fathers worshipped in 
the sanctuary of the forest. The aisles of the deep 
wood rang with their hymns of gratitude and praise. 

What to them were stately shrines, 
Gorgeous dome or towering spire ? 
'Neath their sturdy oaks and pines, 
Rose their anthems, winged with fire. 

1 distributed tracts to-day to the crew — to all who 
came to me for them ; and few remained behind. It 
would have encouraged the hearts of those who sup- 
ply these sources of salutary instruction, to have 
witnessed the eagerness with which our sailors took 
them. In a few minutes there were three or four 
hundred men on the decks of our ship reading 
tracts ; each catching some thought which lures 
from sin, and throws its clear and tender light on the 
narrow path which leads to heaven. 

Monday, Nov. 10. Our sweet southwest breeze 
still continues, and we are moving on under an easy 
sail seven knots the hour. There is not a greater 
folly on the ocean than for a man-of-war to be 
crowding on sail, as if speed were the all-predomi- 



34 DECK AND PORT. 



nant motive. This will do for i a merchantman, 
when a market is to be reached as soon as possible ; 
but for a national ship, bound on a three-years' 
cruise, it is a miserable exhibition of impatience. 
Indeed, in all the affairs of human life moderation is 
true philosophy. Our energies will give way soon 
enough without any forced action. A spirit of rest- 
lessness and discontent is one of the most striking 
faults in the American character. We rush with 
rail-road speed even on ruin. It is as if a man on 
his way to the scaffold were to put his horse into a 
gallop. 

We have been for several days past in the vicinity 
of water-spouts. One of them rose close upon our 
larboard bow. It towered through several strata of 
clouds, preserving through each its columnar form 
till its summit was lost in the sky. We attempted 
to near it sufficiently to bring it within the range of 
a cannon-ball, but it seemed to elude our approach 
as the rainbow the flying footsteps of childhood. Its 
apparent vicinity was undoubtedly one of those op- 
tical delusions so common to the phenomena of the 
sea. The wonders of the deep belong to their Ma- 
ker. Man may survey them as a worshipper, but 
when he attempts to appropriate them, they fly his 
profane grasp, disarm him with their terrors, or over- 
power him with their magnificence. We filled away 
and were again on our course. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 35 



Tuesday, Nov. 11. This has been inspection- 
day. Once a month each sailor is required to ex- 
hibit his clothing to the officer who has charge of 
the division to which he belongs. The object of this 
inspection is to see that his clothes are in good con- 
dition, to see if he wants any thing further for his 
comfort, and to see that every article of apparel is 
marked with his name.- In this respect sailors are 
to be treated as children. They require the same 
constant care. They are the most thoughtless, im- 
provident beings in the world ; and if left to them- 
selves, will be, in some instances, without a decent 
article of clothing, and in others with their whole 
wages in their clothes-bag. There is no subject on 
which officers of the navy should exercise so much 
patience, and such sound paternal judgment. It is a 
work which brings its own reward in the conscious- 
ness of the benefits conferred. 

The life of a sailor is brief enough at best. Even 
with all the care which you can bestow upon his 
habits, and with all the restraints you can exert upon 
his headlong career, he soon reaches his goal. You 
seldom meet with a gray headed sailor. Long before 
age can have frosted his locks, the icy hand of death 
has been laid on his heart. He dies in the midst of 
his days, and often in his full strength. He perishes 
like his ship, which the tempest hath cast on the 
rocks. Could the wave which sepulchres his form 



36 DECK AND PORT. 



be the winding-sheet of his soul, our solicitude for 
him might be less ; but he has a spirit that will sing 
in worlds of light or wail in regions of wo, when the 
dirge of the deep sea is over. 

Wednesday, Nov. 12. Last evening we had an- 
other tropical shower. It fell as if some atmospheric 
lake had burst its cloudy boundary. In a moment 
all exposed to it were drenched. It passed, and the 
moon circled up out of the sea full of mellow light. 
I love that orb on land, but more at sea. On shore, 
other objects relieve your solitude, but on the ocean 
it is all that seems to break the desolation which 
would else be universal. I have seen sailors sit and 
look at it by the hour. Few of them understand the 
laws which regulate its phenomena, but all feel its 
influence. Nature unrolls her treasures to the sim- 
plest of her children. 

This morning a fine breeze visited us from the 
northwest, the first that has cheered us from that 
quarter. We have been on the starboard tack ever 
since we left Norfolk. We who occupy the larboard 
state-rooms, now congratulated ourselves that in the 
event of a blow, we should have dry quarters, and 
our starboard companions would take their turn at 
leaking ports. But this self-gratulation was hardly 
over, when the wind chopped about to its old quar- 
ter, and our exultation, like most exhibitions of self- 



* 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 37 



ish delight, proved premature. Our frigate, with a 
breeze that scarcely crisps the sea, knots her hun- 
dred miles a day. This, before steam began to anni- 
hilate space, would have been considered very fair 
travelling. But now it is a tortoise by the side of 
an antelope. Four bells have struck — my light 
must be extinguished, and I can either walk the 
deck or turn in for the night. 

Thursday, Nov. 13th. I rise with the sun, and, 
like that stern old monarch, from a salt bath. Like 
him, too, I take another on retiring to rest. Here, 
I suppose, ends the resemblance between us, ^except 
that both have some spots. They who go to sea for 
their health should rise with the sun, bathe in salt 
water, and inhale the fresh atmosphere an hour be- 
fore breakfast. They should also bathe before they 
retire to rest. Salt water, the chafing towel, and 
fresh air, are the restoratives most to be relied on, 
and the very restoratives which a lazy invalid will 
first neglect. Were I to omit these, I should hardly* 
live long enough to reach our next port. The in- 
valid should confine himself to a spare diet, and take 
no stimulants. His only tonic should be the pure 
salt atmosphere of the sea. Wine, brandy, and por- 
ter are sufficiently injurious on land, but at sea they 
carry disease and death in their train. 

We have had this evening an eclipse of the moon ; 
4 



38 DECK AND PORT. 



only a narrow rim of the orb escaped the dark shad- 
ow of our earth. Our sailors, not anticipating this 
eclipse, could not at first account for the disappear- 
ing light. They saw the slender spars and tracery 
of the ship becoming momentarily less distinct and 
visible, but knew not from whence the shadow fell. 
A few of them, better versed in lunar observations, 
explained to the rest the phenomenon. They said 
the earth had shoved a part of her black hull between 
us and the moon. But when asked why she had 
done this, the reason assigned was, that the moon had 
probably got a little out of her reckoning, and in 
attempting to tack had missed stays. 

Friday, Nov. 14. We have now been fourteen days 
at sea, and have sailed eighteen hundred miles. A 
vast sheet of water spreads between us and our 
homes, but a greater between us and our port of 
destination. Our fresh provisions still hold out, but 
the appearance of a junk of corned beef on our table 
every day indicates the gradual approach of short 
commons. Still it will be some time before we reach 
that last dish of gastronomic desperation — lobscouse. 
We have an experienced caterer, a provident stew- 
ard, and an ingenious cook. With the three we 
feel pretty safe. I have been at sea in four or 
five national ships, and have never found in any, 
after the second week out, a table so well supplied as 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 39 



ours. Still our variety is effected in a great measure 
by the ingenuity of our steward and cook. 

The culinary art is forced into its highest degree 
of perfection, and achieves its last triumph at sea. 
The cook, who, in a Parisian restaurant, can make a 
palatable soup from the carcass of a crow that has 
perished of inanition, is entitled to but little praise in 
comparison with him who can raise a good soup at 
sea after the third week out. The nautical cook 
has seemingly nothing left for his pot but the recol- 
lections of his coop. Recollections make very good 
poetry, but they simmer badly into a soup. The 
attenuation is too fine even for homoeopathic gastron- 
omy. It would do, perhaps, for Bishop Berkeley's 
ideal world. I rather think the worthy bishop must 
have formed that theory at sea after the third week 
out. It certainly suits man in that condition. The 
unstableness of a thing entitles it to faith. 

Saturday, Nov. 15. To-day our ship has been 
holystoned from stem to stern. A person who has 
stood in the silent excavations of Herculaneum, and 
heard the carriages rattling overhead, can have 
some idea of the sounds which those rumbling stones 
produce on the decks of a ship. The whole ship is 
converted into a floating Babel, and worse indeed, 
unless the strokes of the gravel be comprehended in 
the vocal jargon of the tower. But we shall have 



40 DECK AND PORT." 



our compensation for this in decks so clean that a 
handkerchief might be swept over them without soil- 
ing its whiteness. 

Nothing on board a man-of-war requires such un- 
remitted attention as cleanliness. It puts to the last 
test the most indomitable purpose. Without it, a 
ship soon becomes intolerable. Without it, sickness 
would ensue; some epidemic would sweep half the 
crew to the grave. And yet nine-tenths of our 
sailors are so inconsiderate, that if left to themselves 
they would exercise no precautions on the subject. 
This renders the most careful supervision of officers 
indispensable. Negligence in this department soils 
every laurel he can win on the deck. It is like that 
louse which Burns saw climbing up a lady's bonnet 
in church. This allusion reminds one of an anecdote 
related of Lord Byron and Lady Blessington. Her 
ladyship had taken something that the poet had said 
in high dudgeon, but dismissed it with the fling that 
she "didn't care three skips of a louse for his lord- 
ship." To which the sarcastic poet retorted in the 
couplet — 

" I forgive the dear lady what she has said, 
A woman will talk of what runs in her head." 

Sunday, Nov. 16. The Sabbath has returned, and 
we have had divine service. Last night we dis- 
covered a sail on our starboard-bow, close hauled 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 41 



upon her wind. This morning we tacked ship and 
brought her to. She proved to be a brig from 
Norfolk, bound to Rio de Janeiro. She had been 
fifty-two days out, with light head- winds. We wished 
the captain a pleasant voyage, and parted company. 
We were in hopes she might prove a craft bound to 
some port in the United States, and that she would 
take letters back from us. We were disappointed ; 
our friends must wait for letters from our port of 
destination. It will probably be six months from our 
departure before they will get a line from us. 

You who cannot leave your wives and children for 
a week, without intelligence from them, go to sea 
with the prospect that we have, of not hearing from 
them for a year. The truth is, none but old bachelors 
and hen-pecked husbands should go to sea. The 
latter flies from persecution, the former from that 
wretchedness which a sight of real domestic happi- 
ness inflicts. The bliss of Eden made even Satan 
more wretched than he was before. But the ocean is 
itself a rich domain. The treasures of empires lie in 
its depths. The wrecks of the richest argosies are 
hers ; and her waves roll over the unsurrendered 
forms of matchless beauty. She gives back nought 
that comes within her vast embrace. Her great seal 
of proprietorship will be broken only by the thun- 
ders of the last trump. 

4* 



42 DECK AND PORT. 



Monday, Nov. 17. Our ship has been tantalized 
all day with a light head-wind — just one of those 
winds that are but little better than none ; the only 
advantage it has over a dead calm is the air it af- 
fords. As for progress, we might as well be 

" A painted ship upon a painted ocean." 

How dependent is a ship on the elements ! Let the 
winds refuse to visit us, and this noble frigate would 
never move from her present position ; she would 
rot down piece-meal where she is now lying, with 
the bleaching bones of five hundred men on her 
decks. But the winds are at the bidding of Him 
whose pavilion is in the clouds, and whose mandates 
are nature's resistless law. May we ever live in 
humble submission to His will, and rejoice that He 
reigns ; feeling fully assured that His measures are 
dictated by infinite wisdom, and by an unerring re- 
gard to the happiness of His creatures. 

I found in the sick-bay to-day a patient laboring 
under a typhoid fever, and apparently near his end. 
He spoke to me of his mother and his sisters, and 
tears filled his eyes. The first being that rushes to 
the recollections and heart of a sailor, smitten with 
disease at sea, is his mother. She still clings to his 
memory and affection in the midst of all the forget- 
fulness and hardihood induced by a roving life. The 
last message he leaves is for her; his last dying 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 43 



whisper breathes her name. The mother as she in- 
stills the lessons of piety and filial obligation upon 
the heart of her infant son, should always feel that 
her labor is not in vain. She may drop into her 
grave, but she has left behind influences that will 
work for her. The bow is broken, but the arrow is 
sped and will do its office. 

Tuesday, Nov. 18. Another day of light airs. 
Our sails hang as pertinaciously to our masts as a 
veil over the features of one whose imaginary beauty 
has touched your heart. We discovered another 
sail to-day over our weather-bow, hull down. Con- 
jecture makes her the Courier, which sailed from 
Hampton Roads two or three days before us. There 
is an interest in speaking a vessel at sea, which they 
who dwell on land can hardly realize. These nau- 
tical greetings are all that break the vast solitude of 
the ocean. Without them a ship would be more 
lonely than the solitary fSaveller on the desert of Sa- 
hara, for he will now and then encounter a gazelle. 

A sailor's life is one of constant privations. He 
makes his meals from bread which the hammer can 
scarcely break, and from meat often as juiceless and 
dry as the bones which it feebly covers. The fresh 
products of the garden and the fruits of the field 
have all been left behind. As for a bowl of milk, 
which the child of the humblest cottager can bring 



44 DECK AND PORT. 



to its lips, it is as much beyond his reach as the nec- 
tar which sparkled in the goblets of the fabled divini- 
ties on Ida. When Adam went forth from his lost 
Eden, under the frown of God, he had still a con- 
fiding companion at his side, to share with him the 
sorrows of his lot, and he still found some flowers 
amid the briers and brambles which infested his 
path; but the sailor finds no flowers springing up 
along the pathway of the sea, and he has no con- 
soling companion there, except in his dreams of some 
far-off shore. 

Wednesday, Nov. 19. We have three sailors in 
the sick-bay to-day, in a very critical condition. 
They are all good men, so far at least as ship duty 
is concerned. Their death would make a serious 
breach in our crew. Our intelligent surgeon and his 
faithful assistants are devoted to them. They are 
not left night or day, for an hour, without a medical 
attendant. Commodore Srockton went into the sick- 
bay to-day to see them. He never forgets the sailor. 
He pities when others might reproach, forgives when 
others might denounce, and never abandons him 
even though he should abandon himself; and yet he 
exacts prompt obedience. His discipline, and that 
of Capt. Du Pont, is derived in a great measure from 
moral influences, the power of correct example and 
the pressure of circumstance. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 45 



Make the moral mechanism of a ship like a piece 
of well-contrived machinery, and but few blows will 
be required to keep it in order. But this requires 
energy in the details. It is much easier to flog a 
man who has committed an error, than it is to train 
him to avoid that error. Indolence flies to the lash, 
enlightened activity to a system of correct training, 
which is to be pressed at all points. And this train- 
ing must be consistent with itself. It will not suc- 
ceed if it is to be broken in upon constantly by brute 
force, or by language as disreputable to the officer 
who uses it, as it is unjust and provoking to the men 
to whom it is addressed. Profane or opprobrious 
epithets are a mockery of all discipline, except that 
which is enforced by the lash. An officer incapable 
of enforcing any other discipline, is a calamity to the 
service. 

Thursday, Nov. 20. We discovered, this morn- 
ing, a brig on our weather-beam, standing «down for 
us, and hove-to with our main top-sail to the mast. 
She run up Danish colors, and in an hour hove-to at 
a cable's length under our lee-quarter. We lowered 
a boat and boarded her. She proved to be the brig 
Mariah, forty days from Rio Grande, bound to Ham- 
burg. We inquired for fruit, but she had none. The 
captain wished to correct his reckoning, and well he 
might, for he was seven degrees out of his longitude. 



46 DECK AND PORT. 



Mr. Beale, our second master, took passage in her 
for the United States. It was arranged between him 
and the captain of the brig, that he should be put on 
board the first vessel that they might fall in with 
bound to an American port, and if they fell in with 
none before that, he should be landed at Dover, Eng- 
land. The captain must have had a very flexible 
policy. When it was understood that letters could 
be sent back, pens that had slumbered for weeks 
woke up. In half an hour the commodore had fin- 
ished his communications, our home-letters were 
written, and Mr. Beale was passing over the side. 
In reaching the boat, a box of segars and a revolving- 
pistol fell overboard. Strange as it may seem, the 
pistol floated a moment, and was saved, while the 
segars were lost. I watched the letter-bag, saw that 
safe in, thought of the satisfaction it would give, and 
forgot the Havanas. Though the sea was running 
high, Mr. Beale reached the brig safely, and our boat 
returned.. The little vessel then squared away, and 
we made sail ; and thus we parted, the one for Ham- 
burg, the other for Rio. How the paths of life cross 
each other! 

Friday, Nov. 21. Poor Spillier, whose critical 
condition I have watched for several days in the sick 
bay, has passed beyond hope. His disease has passed 
into pneumonia, and his lungs have already ceased, 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 47 



in a great measure, to perform their functions. I 
told him to-day he could not live. The sad intelli- 
gence brought tears to his eyes. He said it was 
dreadful to die away from his friends, and be buried 
in the sea. I told him his mother died a good 
Christian and had gone to heaven, and he could go 
there and meet her. But he must bring all the 
errors and sins of his life, and with sincere sorrow 
and contrition, lay them at the foot of the cross, 
and implore divine forgiveness. He was silent 
for a few minutes, and then uttered a brief and 
appropriate prayer, confessing his manifold trans- 
gressions, and casting himself on the compassion of 
Christ. 

He was silent again, and seemed absorbed in 
thought. The expressions of mental anguish and 
hope alternated over his pale features like cloud and 
sunlight over a landscape. He now became com- 
posed, and opening his large swimming eyes upon 
me, thanked me for my attentions to him, and re- 
quested me to write his sisters ; to give them his 
dying love ; to say that he died in Christ and hoped 
to go to heaven, where he should see their mother. 
He told me that the dread of being buried at sea had 
left him ; that it was no matter where his poor body 
was laid, if his soul was saved ; that his blessed 
mother would know him and would be the first to 
greet him. How the ties of a mother's love fasten 



48 DECK AND PORT. 



upon her child, soothing the couch of pain and tri- 
umphing over the terrors of the grave ! 

Saturday, Nov. 22. We have a stiff wind to-day 
from the southeast, and we are running, close hauled, 
under reefed top-sails. The sea is high, and every 
now and then a huge wave throws its curling crest 
through some half-closed port, as a wolf pounces into 
a sheep-fold, or as the arch adversary o'erleaped the 
green wall of Eden. Though we are any thing but 
Eden, with its beauty and its bliss : our first parent 
would have had but little cause of regret, if, in re- 
signing Eden, he had relinquished only the habitudes 
of a sea-life. A wigwam might have consoled him 
for his loss. No Milton had sung — 

" Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit 
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
Brought death into the world, and all our woe, 
With loss of Eden." 

The truth is, man was never intended for a nauti- 
cal being. He was made perfect, but he has sought 
out many inventions ; and this going to sea is one of 
them. His pathway on the deep is hedged about 
with storms, icebergs, water-spouts, and breakers. 
But, in the strange perversity of his nature, he perse- 
veres through the whole of then*. He knows and 
feels that he is a fool in his nautical obstinacy, and 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 49 



yet he clings to it, as the inebriate to the cup that 
consumes his vitals. lie seems to court hardship for 
its own sake, and to court peril for the excitement 
which it bestows. But for the indecency of the 
thing he would toll, in advance, his own funeral-bell, 
that its fearful monotone might tremble on his heart 
before it should be cold. And he would almost dig 
his own grave, that he might hear his coffin rumbling 
down to its rest. 

Sunday, Nov. 23. Another Sabbath morn has 
poured*its holy light on land and sea. On land, the 
stir of the village and the tumult of the great city 
have ceased. Men walk softly in the prelude of that 
rest which remains to the good. Sacred truth melts 
on their hearts like dew. No community in ajChris 
tian land can be utterly bereft of moral influence. If 
it has none from within, there is a pressure from 
without. The moral as well as physical atmosphere 
tends to an equilibrium. Righteous Lot may have 
fled from Sodom, but his warning voice rolled back 
upon the wind to the doomed city. 

But a ship is cut off by its position from all extra- 
neous influences. It is like a ball suspended in the 
centre of a hollow sphere. This isolation has placed 
it beyond the reach, and seemingly beyond the sym- 
pathies, of those who dwell on the land, They have 
regarded it as a thing apart from themselves, a thing 



50 DECK AND TORT. 



with which they had no common bond of brother- 
hood, and they have abandoned it to its calamities 
and its crimes. When guilt and misery have done 
their worst, when the pirate-flag has been unfurled 
where the insignia of commerce streamed before, in- 
stead of accusing their own apathy and negligence, 
they have seemed to regard the terrible spectacle as 
some singular exemplification of divine justice- — as 
some malignant star accursed and made ■ 

" A •wandering hell in the eternal space." 

» 
Monday, Nov. 24. Yesterday morning, as the 

men left their hammocks, the ominous whisper went 
round — " Spillier is dead !" He had died during the 
night, while storm and darkness rested on the face 
of the deep. Last evening, as the sun was going 
down, we consigned him to his floating grave. The 
deep-toned call, "All hands to bury the dead!" went 
like a knell through the ship. The body, wrapped 
in that hammock in which the deceased had swung 
to the force of the wind, was borne by his mess- 
mates, preceded by the chaplain of the ship, from 
the gun-deck up the forward hatch, and round the 
capstan to the lee-side ; the band, with muffled 
drums, playing the " dead-march," and the marine- 
guard presenting arms. The commodore, the cap- 
tain, and officers of the ship, took their position near 
the main-mast : the crew were stationed forward. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 51 



Then commenced the burial-service : " I am the 
resurrection and the life, saith the Lord ; he that be- 
lieveth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live ; 
and whosoever believeth in me shall never die." 
When the solemn sentence was uttered, n We com- 
mit this body to the deep," the inner end of the plank 
was lifted, and down its steep plane moved the ham- 
mocked dead, and a hoarse hollow sound followed 
the heavy plunge. The waters closed over the dis- 
appearing form — the ship glided on as before. Then, 
with impressive effect, came in the words, " Looking 
for the general resurrection in the last day, and the 
life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, at whose second coming in glorious majesty 
to judge the world, the earth and sea shall give up 
their dead, and the corruptible bodies of those who 
sleep in Him shall be changed, and made like unto 
His own glorious body, according to the mighty 
working whereby He is able to subdue all things 
unto Himself." The benediction followed, and the 
crew returned in silence to their stations. 

Reader, when you die, it will be, I trust, in the 
sabbath calm of your hushed chamber ; but the poor 
sailor dies at sea between the narrow decks of his 
rolling vessel. The last accents that will reach 
your ears will be those of kindness and affection, 
such as flow from a mother's care, and a sister's 
solicitude ; the last sounds that reach the ears of the 



52 DECK AND PORT. 



dying sailor are the hoarse murmurs of that wave 
which seems to complain at the delay of its victim. 
You will be buried beneath the green tree, where 
love and grief may go to plant their flowers and 
cherish your virtues ; but the poor sailor is hearsed 
in the dark depths of the ocean, there to drift about, 
in its under-currents, to the great judgment-day. 
Alas, for the poor sailor ! the child of misfortune, 
impulse, and error : his brief life filled with privation, 
hardship, and peril ; his grave in the foaming deep ! 
Though man pity him not, may God remember his 
weaknesses and trials in the day of his last account. 

Tuesday, Nov. 25th. We have had for two days 
past a steady breeze from the southeast, and have 
run an average of seven knots the hour. We are 
now in the hope of making Rio in twenty days from 
this time. This will make our whole passage forty- 
six days, — not a bad run. The Columbia was ninety- 
three days making the same passage ; but it was at 
the most unfavorable season of the year. To take 
this as a specimen of her sailing would be doing 
great injustice to that noble frigate. 

Wednesday, Nov. 26th. We are to-day in lat. 
18° 49 n., long. 33° 46' w., with a light steady breeze 
from the southeast. We are knocked off to the west 
of our course. We ought to head east of south, even 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 53 



with the variation in our favor. We are anxious to 
cross the line at twenty-seven or eight, to avoid the 
head winds of Cape St. Roque. We are where we 
ought to have the northeast trades, but we have not 
yet had a puff of wind from that quarter. Unless our 
present breeze hauls or dies we- shall be obliged to 
tack, which will be about as agreeable as running 
back in a railroad-car to make way for a locomotive 
ahead, when you are in haste to get on. But we 
have one thing to console us, it is all in the cruise, 
so let the winds blow as they list. 

The hammers of our blacksmiths are heard this 
morning, the first time for some days, ^hey have 
been silenced on account of the sick ; but they are 
now going as if determined to make up lost time. 
Iron takes almost every shape under their blows. 
A ship's blacksmith has no such word as can't in his 
vocabulary. He takes his order, and tries to shape 
his iron accordingly, though he may know it to be 
utterly impracticable. We had on board the Natchez 
an old time-piece which had broken its main-spring. 
The first lieutenant, for fun, told the blacksmith to 
take it to the anvil and put a new main-spring in it. 
Hearing the puff of the bellows and the click of the 
hammer, I went forward, where I found the old 
watch taken to pieces, and the worthy representative 
of Vulcan, beating with his full force a piece of iron. 
" What are you doing with this time-piece ?" I in- 
5* 



54 DECK AND PORT. 



quired. " Making a kinked-up sort of a thing, sir, to 
make it go," was the sardonic reply. 

Thursday, Nov. 27. The wind hauled round into 
our teeth last evening. We tacked to the east, and 
headed east by north through the night. But the 
wind soon became too light for us to make much 
progress in any direction. Instead of trade-winds, 
these fickle puffs ought to be called the variables. 
No coquette was ever half so inconstant. The only 
certain thing about them is the lightning, which has 
been throwing its cables of flame from its aerial 
craft. I have often thought a thunder- cloud might 
be the chariot of the prince of darkness. But let 
that pass : digression is my besetting infirmity. 

This morning, large masses of cloud broke the ho- 
rizon in the east with their dark distended forms. 
The sun coming up behind them, converted their 
jagged outline into fire, and poured over their steep 
precipices torrents of flame. We predicted a strong 
wind from that quarter. But one battlement after 
another tumbled from this cloudy fortress, till only 
a few tottering bastions remained, and these soon 
dissolved, 

" And like an unsubstantial vision faded, 
Left not a wreck behind." 

We felt as much disappointed as a confident lover 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 55 



getting a blank refusal. How singular it is that the 
enamored youth always ascribes the first negative 
to female delicacy, and the second to the hostility of 
some one of her friends. He still believes she loves 
him, and would say so if her heart could only speak 
out. Perhaps this amiable weakness has been placed 
in our nature to relieve disappointment, and suppress 
an indignant tone from wounded pride. 

Friday, Nov. 28. This morning our vanished 
clouds reappeared on the eastern horizon, and as 
they lifted, a strong wind streamed down from that 
quarter, and we were able to lay our course. We 
shook the only reef out of our top-sails, and at seven 
bells set our top-gallant-sails. The sky had that 
light haze upon it peculiar to the tropics. The sun 
melts through it, instead of throwing its full burning 
beams. The appearance of' the atmosphere resem- 
bles in some respects that of the Indian summer in 
other climes, but it is more humid and softer. In the 
afternoon the wind became so stiff that our ship 
fairly staggered under it. Her lee-guns knocked the 
caps from the waves. We now took in our top- 
gallant-sails. At sunset we took a reef in our top- 
sails and courses, but still plunged ahead sufficiently 
fast. 

Our frigate returned from her last cruise with a 
brilliant reputation for speed, — a reputation which 



56 DECK AND PORT. 



she has not sustained thus far with us. Some as- 
cribe this loss of character to a foul bottom ; but the 
three thousand miles which we have run, must have 
pretty well scoured her copper. Others ascribe it to 
her lying so deep ; but this difficulty every day is 
removing in the consumption of provisions and 
water. We shall soon be able to settle the truth or 
fallacy of this supposition. The truth is, a ship often 
loses her sailing and recovers it again without any 
satisfactory reason. The United States, one of the 
best sailors in the service, once lost her reputation 
entirely, but recovered it again ; and our frigate will, 
I doubt not, regain her laurels. Our commodore and 
captain are studying her points as anxiously as a 
gentleman of the turf those of a race-horse that has 
had the misfortune to be beaten once. 

Saturday, Nov. 29th. Our east wind still holds 
steady and strong ; we are running nine and ten 
knots on our course. This has put us all in fine 
spirits, notwithstanding the wet condition of our 
frigate. Only give a sailor a good ten-knot breeze 
on his course, and he wont complain, if he wades in 
water to the chin. Some of us had a fine shower- 
bath to-day. We were reading on the half deck be- 
tween the weather guns, when we shipped a tremen- 
dous sea through the ports, which half buried us in 
its surge. Our chairs slipped up, and we were turn- 



PASSAGE TO RIO 57 



bling about like porpoises. One of the crew, at 
least, laughed in his sleeve. 

This reminds me of an occurrence on board the 
Vincennes. We had been in a gale for two days, 
which at last broke suddenly, leaving a high sea. 
Governor V. S., of Santa Cruz, whom we were 
taking out as passenger, when the gale had broken, 
sent an invitation to the wardroom officers to come 
to the cabin and take a glass of whisky-punch with 
him. Total abstinence not being at that time the 
order of the day, we all went up. The governor 
stated that he had one bottle of very old Irish 
whisky with him, which would make a capital 
punch. Tumblers were ordered ; the hot water, 
whisky, and sugar, in due proportions, mixed and 
stirred. Now, said the governor, please take your 
glasses, gentlemen, and I will propose one sentiment; 
each lifted his glass, when a tremendous sea struck 
us under the counter, and pitched us all in a mass 
together on the floor. Whisky, glasses, and senti- 
ment all came down in one crash. The first thing 
I heard was the exclamatory inquiry of the governor, 
— " Captain Shubrick, are we still afloat ?" 

Sunday, Nov. 30th. We were apprehensive that 
our sabbath worship would be broken in upon, by a 
dash of rain from some of the clouds that were 
driving over our ship. But only a few drops fell. 



58 DECK AND PORT. 



Sailors have but very little respect for fair-weather 
Christians. They believe the course to heaven lies 
through a stormy sea, and that a man to get there 
must battle with hostile elements. They like plain, 
direct preaching, full of heart and strength. They 
cannot tolerate a display of literature, or metaphy- 
sical acumen, in a sermon. They know they are 
wicked and unfit for heaven, and they wish to be 
told so. The man who should tell them otherwise 
would at once forfeit their confidence. 

A gentleman of the Universalist persuasion was 
once appointed a chaplain in the navy, and re- 
ported for duty on board one of our ships fitting 
for sea. His creed soon became known to the 
sailors, and was freely discussed in their messes. 
" If we are all so good that we are going to heaven," 
said an old tar, "what is the use in overhauling 
one's sins? it only gives a man a bloody sight of trouble 
for nothing." " If we are all on the right tack," said 
another, " and must bring up at the right port, what 
is the use in preaching and praying about it ?" " If we 
trust this doctrine, and it don't turn out true, there'll 
be hell to pay," exclaimed a third. These sentiments 
were shared in by the whole crew, and soon became 
known to the newly-appointed chaplain. He resign- 
ed his commission, and showed a considerateness 
in doing it which entitles him to respect. Sailors, 
ignorant and wicked as they are, can never be made 



PASSAGE TO RIO- 59 

to believe that the good and bad bring up at last in 
the same port. 

Monday, Dec. 1. Our fine east wind, which has 
been shoving us on at the rate of two hundred and 
thirty miles a day, was crossed this afternoon by a 
squall from the south, and knocked under. We 
watched its overthrow with grief, and expected for 
some time that it would rally and overpower its an- 
tagonist. But victory remained with the foe, and 
we were driven from our course. In the mean time, 
a tropical shower, falling without premonition, has 
drenched all on duty to the skin. 

These reverses fall hardest upon the gentlemen 
among the crew. We have one, an Englishman by 
birth, who was living a few months since at the 
Astor House, drinking the choicest wines the hotel 
could furnish, and promenading Broadway in white 
kid gloves, with gold-headed cane and quizzing-glass. 
But suddenly, from some freak of nature, he threw 
himself into our ship as a common sailor. He is 
about twenty years of age, full six feet high, and ex- 
tremely well proportioned. He has a small foot and 
hand, an open cheerful countenance, large floating 
eye, and hair that falls in showering ringlets. He is 
willing and prompt in the performance of every duty. 
But what a transition ! The Astor House for a wet 
rolling deck, its beds of down for a hammock, its rich 



60 DECK AND PORT. 



viands and desserts for salt junk and hard tack. The 
last London cut in coat, pants, and beaver, for a blue 
roundabout, ducks, and tarpaulin, and a gold-headed 
cane for a tarred rope ! And yet he is cheerful, and 
seemingly ambitious of excelling as a sailor. How 
nature accommodates herself to circumstances ! 

Tuesday, Dec 2. Poor Lynch, one of our crew, 
from the state of Maine, died last evening, and we 
have to-day, as the sun was setting, committed his 
remains to the deep. He has left a pious mother, of 
whom he often spoke to me in his last sickness. 
She seemed to be the strongest tie that fastened him 
to earth. Her early lessons of piety awoke with 
singular power as his end approached. They crowd- 
ed thick and fast upon his heart ; he clung to them 
as something that could stay him, something that 
could lift him above present suffering and future ap- 
prehension. He died under the light of these senti- 
ments, and in an humble hope of the happiness which 
they promise to the pure and meek. 

At the call, " All hands to bury the dead !" the 
officers and crew took their stations. The body, 
wound in its hammock, and preceded by the chap- 
lain, was brought up the fore hatch and round the 
capstan to the waist, the band playing the " dead- 
march," and the marine-guard presenting arms. The 
service was read, and the hollow sound of the ham- 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 61 



mocked dead descending through the sea, told that 
another of our crew had left us for ever. This is the 
third that we have lost within less than thirty days. 
The death of a man in a crowded town is little felt, 
but in a ship's crew it leaves a vacuum which all 
observe. Still, these bereavements are so blended 
with the vicissitudes of a sea life, that they fail to 
make a permanent impression ; they are felt deeply 
for the moment and then glide away. 

" As from the -wing the sky no scar retains, 
The parted wave no furrow from the keel, 
So dies in human hearts the thought of death." 

Wednesday, Dec. 3. Our trade-wind has left us 
utterly. We have had a regular Irishman's hurri- 
cane — up and down. The rain fell in a perfect 
avalanche ; with all the scuppers open, the water 
became, in a few minutes, almost knee deep on the 
spar-deck. The rolling of the ship threw it over the. 
combings of the hatches, and down it came upon the 
gun-deck, and then took another leap below, flood- 
ing the ward- room, steerage, and berth-deck. With 
the hatches covered, and the external air excluded, 
the heat below soon became intolerable. Our choice 
lay between being roasted or drenched. Most of us 
preferred the latter, and emerged into the drifting 
sea above. 

In the midst of these troubles, our cook came aft 
6 



62 DECK AND PORT. 



and informed our caterer that the water came in 
such floods into the galley, that he could not keep 
fire enough alive to light his pipe by. This was 
good news for our last pig, who looked out from his 
gratings as one that has another day to live. I 
always pity the last tenant of the coop and sty. He 
looks so lonely, so disconsolate in the midst of that 
voiceless solitude, which the untimely death of his 
companions has spread around him, that I could 
never have the heart to kill him. It seems like ex- 
tinguishing the last of a race. Indeed, I would never 
take the life of any thing, unless it was in the way 
in which the Irishman thought his squirrel might 
have been killed. Two of them were gunning, and 
had treed a large squirrel upon a very high limb. 
One of them, a little more experienced at the busi- 
ness, lifted and fired his old Queen's-arm ; down 
came the squirrel with a bone-breaking crash; when 
the other exclaimed, " An' faith, you might as well 
have spared your pooder, the fall itself would ha* 
kilt him." 

Thursday, Dec. 4. We caught, two days since, 
a stormy petrel. As the bird was brought on board, 
the old sailors around shook their heads with omin- 
ous looks of dissatisfaction. " We'll have a blow for 
that," said an old salt ; and sure enough, before the 
wings of the petrel were dry a storm set in. " We'll 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 



have no more fair weather," said another, " till that 
petrel is put back into the sea." " I knew a ship," 
exclaimed a third, " that had a forty days' gale for 
having killed a petrel ; and if that bird dies on board, 
we'll escape a wreck by the skin of our teeth, or 
we'll rot down in a dead calm." Our storm con- 
tinued without any token of abatement, and last 
evening the ominous bird was returned in safety to 
its element. The clouds soon swept past, the sun 
emerged into a bright sapphire sky, and a leading 
wind from the southeast sprung up. 

How far the return of the petrel to the sea in- 
fluenced this auspicious change in the elements, I 
leave to the decision of those who have more or less 
philosophy than myself. I must confess I was glad 
to see the petrel go back. There is a sacredness 
attached to this bird that should exempt it from vio- 
lence. It is supposed to be the form in which the 
spirit of some one, who has been sepulchred in the 
sea, still floats in troubled light, and that when its 
penance is passed, it will be translated to some higher 
form which the gale and the breaker can never reach. 
This may all be superstition, but it is a glimmering 
of the great truth of man's immortality. He who 
believes that man can survive death in the shape of 
a bird, is more than half way to the belief that he can 
survive in the form of an angel. 

It is a tranquil eve ; our ship is gliding quietly on , 



64 DECK AND PDRT. 



my thoughts, unoccupied here, run warmly back to 
those left behind — to the loved and lost 

CATHARA. 

The evening star sleeps in the moon's pale rim, 
And slumber rocks the weary world to rest ; 

Nor wakes a sound except the vesper hymn 

Of pines, that murmur on the mountain's crest ; 

And now, at this lone hour, fond thoughts of thee 

Melt o'er my heart as music on the sea. 

But thou hast gone, hast winged thy silent flight 
O'er Death's dim waters to the spirit-land ; 

Thy faith discerned its hills of purple light 
Ere yet thy footstep left our mortal strand ; 

As closed the shadows on thy farewell track, 

A whisper of thy bliss came floating back. 

It came too soft and low for Echo's breath, 
And died, with tender transport in its tone ; 

But ere it ceased, it reached the ear of Death, 
And shook the sable monarch on his throne ; 

He knew the omen, which that whisper gave, 

Would burst one day in thunder from the grave. 

Friday, Dec. 5. We are to-day in lat. 3° 23' n., 
long. 28° 20' w. We have a steady but light breeze 
from the southeast, and are heading south by south- 
west, with half a point westerly variation. We shall 
cross the line if this wind holds, and there is now 
little prospect of change, at 30°. This is three or 
four degrees further west than most ships bound to 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 65 



Rio de Janeiro venture to cross it at. Still, unless 
we encounter westerly currents on the other side of 
the line, we expect to be able to double Cape San 
Roque, and proceed directly to our port. Should 
we be disappointed, we shall be obliged to make a 
long tack to the northeast, which may keep us many 
days longer at sea. But we are going to make the 
experiment, and must bide the consequences. Noth- 
ing can be less certain than a ship's progress. Even 
those winds deemed regular and almost infallible by 
mariners, seem now and then infected with the last 
degree of fickleness and perversity. 

We have now been thirty-six days at sea without 
an isle or promontory to break the dim horizon, or 
relieve the vast rolling waste of waters. Harmony 
and good feeling prevail among the officers. There 
has not been the slightest clash of feeling between 
our Captain and those who carry on duty under him. 
And yet the most energetic forms of discipline. have 
been maintained. The crew are cheerful and active. 
Punishments have been very rare. The cats have 
been used but once since we weighed anchor. Ef- 
ficiency has been secured by a thorough attention to 
details on the part of Mr. Livingston, our first lieu- 
tenant, and the watch officers. 

Saturday, Dec. 6. We are now within one de- 
gree of the equator. But the wind having hauled 
6* 



66 DECK AND PORT. 



round one point east of south, we have been obliged 
to go upon our starboard tack to avoid crossing it 
too far to the west. We shall probably have made 
sufficient easting by to-morrow noon to make a dash 
over it. Then for a new hemisphere and new con- 
stellations. But we have a splendid moon to-night, 
directly in the centre of the great dome of heaven. 
Our masts cast no shadow. This position gives the 
moon a much greater apparent distance than it has 
when near the horizon. It now seems as some 
heaven-born sphere, that, having in vain tried to win 
you from the cares of earth, has gone back with mel- 
ancholy countenance to its choiring sisterhood on 
high. 

" There's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st, 
But in his motion, like an angel, sings, 
Still choiring to the young-eyed cherubim." 

We had a visit, a few evenings since, from a whale. 
We were lying in a dead calm, when this monster 
saluted us like a locomotive blowing off steam. The 
column of brine which he threw up with his great 
forcing-pump, fell in a sparkling shower. Man con- 
structs his fountain with great cost and pains, and 
when all is done, it can play only in that one place : 
but + he whale moves about, throwing up his brilliant 
cascade at will in every zone. The springs may 
*ail, the streams forsake their channels, but this show- 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 67 



ering Column still soars from a source exhaustless as 
the mighty deep. Give me the whale and ocean for 
a fountain, and you may do what you please with 
your drizzling pipes and frog-ponds. 

Sunday, Dec. 7th. At eleven o'clock, the tolling 
of the ship's bell announced the hour of worship. 
The officers took their accustomed station on the 
starboard-quarter ; the marines on the poop-deck ; 
the crew on the larboard-quarter, stretching back to 
the waist and circling the main-mast to the opposite 
side ; the band and singers between the after-hatches ; 
Mr. Ten Eyche and Mr. Turrel, with their families, 
forming a group between the officers and marines. 
The commodore, being informed by the captain that 
the crew were assembled for worship, appeared and 
took his station on the left of the officers. The 
chaplain then took his station at the capstan, which 
was covered with a large flag, when the band played 
the impressive air to the words, " O come and let us 
worship." 

We sung the missionary hymn — "From Green- 
land's icy mountain" — a hymn for which sailors 
have the greatest partiality. The splendid imagery 
of this hymn, and the rich melody of the music, 
always take hold of the sailor. It has something of 
the same effect on him, which the impassioned elo- 
quence of Peter the Hermit must have had, when 



68 DECK AND PORT. 



he poured the population of Europe, in tumultuous 
crusades, on the bosom of Asia. If sailors could win 
their way to heaven with weapons of war, there is no 
act of hardship or daring from which they would 
shrink. But when you throw them back upon their 
own hearts, and confine them to the enemy found 
there, they are too apt to make a truce ; still, so far 
are they from being unsusceptible of religious im- 
pression, that could I at all times select my auditory 
and place of worship, I would take a ship of the line 
with her thousand sailors on her spar deck ; and, if 1 
failed of making an impression there, I should despair 
of making it anywhere. 

Monday, Dec. 8th. The watch in the main-top 
discovered this morning, at break of day, a sail just 
peering up over the swelling sweer^of the sea. She 
was hull down ; indeed, the little canvas that loomed 
to the eye might easily have been mistaken for one 
of those small sheets of vapor which seem blent with 
the spray of a wave. But sail after sail emerged into 
vision till her hull broke with its dark mass the bright 
line of the horizon. She came down to us before the 
wind, with her royals and studding-sails set, and 
with the American ensign flying from her mizen- 
peak. 

She proved to be the whale-ship Jason, of New 
London ; twelve days from St. Helena ; bound 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 69 



home. She had been out on her whaling expedition 
seventeen months, and had secured in that time 
twenty-eight thousand gallons of oil, and forty-six 
thousand pounds of whalebone. The second mate, a 
noble tough tar, who came on board, told us that 
his portion of the spoil would be eight hundred dol- 
lars. He wanted some powder and shot to keep off 
the Mexicans. We told him there was no war with 
Mexico ; still he should be welcome to some ammu- 
nition, certainly enough to fire a salute as he wound 
into the harbor of New London. 

All pens were now put in motion to dispatch let- 
ters home. Go where you would, fore or aft, nothing 
was to be heard but the scratch of these pens. What 
surprised me most was the number of sailors who 
were driving the quill. How they can carry paper 
in their clothes-bags unrumpled, where every thing 
else is mussed up, is more than I can explain. But 
of all beings the sailor is most fertile in expedients. 
He stows away every thing in his clothes-bag, from 
a mirror to a marlin-spike, from a cable to a cambric 
needle, and has plenty of room remaining. 

The captain of the Jason kindly offered to take 
any officer to the United States whom the commander- 
in-chief might wish to dispatch. Our commodore 
fixed on Mr. Morris, his secretary, who was very de- 
sirous of going ; and having given him an outfit, in 
the shape of provisions and funds, equal to all emer- 



70 DECK AND PORT. 



gencies, instructed him to get the President's mes- 
sage, the proceedings of Congress, all the news of the 
day, with letters for the officers of the ship, take the 
first packet to Chagres, cross over to Panama, and 
join him at the nearest point practicable. The let- 
ters now being bagged, a boat was called away, Mr. 
Morris took leave of us, and was soon on the deck of 
the Jason. The sturdy whaler squared round before 
the wind, we filled away, and when the sun went 
down were once more alone on the ocean. 

Each seemed lost in thoughts of the surprise and 
pleasure which the letters he had thus unexpectedly 
been able to send back would awaken. One of our 
best young sailors told me his mother would weep for 
joy over his letter, and sleep for a month with it un- 
der her pillow. No eloquence that ever flowed from 
human lips affected me half so much as the simple 
remark of this dutiful sailor. There was a tender- 
ness, a truthfulness, a moral beauty in it, which made 
me forget the rough exterior of the being from whom 
it came. He seemed as a brother whom I could take 
to my heart, and whose hard lot I could most cheer- 
fully share. That man who can forget his mother, 
who can forget the sorrows and solicitudes which she 
has endured for him, and the lessons of piety which 
she instilled into his young mind, has sundered the 
last tie that binds him to virtue and a reasonable 
hope of heaven. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 71 



Tuesday, Dec. 9. Our painters commenced to-day 
painting our gun-carriages black. They had a coat 
of white paint when we left port, but it soon became 
dingy and defaced by the rough-and-tumble of sea 
usage. Black paint can easily be restored ; a few 
coats of varnish will make it shine like a Congo un- 
der his native sun. The objects to be aimed at in the 
use of paint on board a man-of-war are neatness, 
preservation, economy in money and time. There 
is nothing fantastic, but all is substantial and endu- 
ring. It is in harmony with the solid oak out of 
which the storm-defying fabric is itself constructed. 

I have been 'attached to ships where the belaying- 
pins, the midship-stanchions, and even crowbars, 
were bright work. The amount of labor bestowed 
upon them during a three years' cruise, might, if 
properly directed, have almost constructed another 
ship equal to that of which these are mere blacksmith 
appendages. Were sailors merely unthinking ma- 
chines, it might do to keep them employed on such 
work ; but as it is, the idea will often force itself 
upon them that their labor is a frivolous waste of 
time. This renders them impatient and remiss, and 
this impatience and remissness soon extends to their 
other duties. Keep sailors employed, but let them 
feel that their employment is working out some ade- 
quate ends. No man will continue to roll an empty 
wheelbarrow, however liberally paid for his services. 



72 DECK AND PORT. 



Wednesday, Dec. 10. This morning, with our 
royals set to a steady southeaster, we dashed across 
the equator at longitude thirty. That great circle, 
cutting the continents, mountains, oceans, and islands 
of the globe asunder, now threw its steep plane be- 
tween us and the thousand objects to which memory 
clings with affection and pride. The sunset clouds 
on which we had gazed, the towering crags where 
morn first broke, and the brilliant constellations which 
faith had peopled with the spirits of the pure and 
meek, all went down in dying pomp over the dim 
horizon. What now to us Niagara's thunder, or the 
rush of the Alpine avalanche ! Even the polar star, 
that has poured its steady light for ages on the ruins 
of pyramids, the wrecks of temples, and the graves 
of empires, has left its watch-tower in darkness, — 
all are lost in the shoreless ocean of night. 

Old Neptune formerly saluted every ship that 
crossed the line. He appeared in the shape of some 
tall sturdy tar, in ox-hide mail, with a long beard of 
yarn falling far below his chin, and locks of the same 
flowing in drenched ringlets down his shoulders. 
His trident was a huge harpoon, his pipe the coiled 
hose of the fire-engine ; thus accoutred, he hailed the 
ship over her bows, and mounting a gun-carriage, 
was drawn aft to the quarter-deck. Here he sum- 
moned the green horns to his presence, and after 
lathering them from a tub of grease and tar, shaved 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 73 



them with a ship's scraper. Having thus introduced 
the novice into his service, he returned in triumph 
to his watery realm. This ceremony was found such 
an infraction of discipline, that it has been discon- 
tinued on board our national ships. Our sailors were 
allowed to splice the main-brace as a substitute. 

Thursday, Dec. 11. A delicate question of disci- 
pline occurred to-day. The master's mate of the 
gun-deck, finding the captain of the main-top behind 
the rest in lashing and stowing his hammock, ordered 
him to clean the bell, — a menial service, and intend- 
ed as a punishment. The captain of the main-top, 
knowing the order to be illegal and derogatory to 
his position, declined compliance. He was reported 
to the officer of the deck and confined. All this had 
taken place without the knowledge of the first lieu- 
tenant or the commander. When known to them, 
the facts were promptly inquired into. I felt some 
interest in seeing how Captain Du Pont would dis- 
pose of the question. 

The illegality of an order, though it may mitigate 
the offence, cannot for a moment justify disobe- 
dience. Such a doctrine would make every man a 
judge in his own case, and overthrow discipline. He 
must obey the order, and seek redress at its proper 
source. The offender saw his error, as exhibited to 
him by Captain Du Pont, and said he should submit 
7 



74 DECK AND PORT. 



to any punishment which the government of the ship 
required. That was enough ; he was one of our best 
men, this his first offence, and Captain Du Pont very 
properly at once restored him to duty. Now what 
would have been the moral effect of inflicting chas- 
tisement on that man, as some, in a spirit of haste, 
might have done. It might have broken his ambi- 
tion. It would certainly have reduced him to a lash- 
level with the hardened culprit. It would have 
relieved punishment of some portion of the shame 
which attaches to it. The bad always exult when 
they see any portion of their disgrace transferred to 
the good; therefore never punish a good faithful 
sailor for the first offence into which he may be be- 
trayed, if there is any way of getting round it. Let 
his virtues 

" Plead for him like angels, trumpet-tongued " 

Friday, Dec. 12. We have had, for three days, the 
regular trade-wind from the southeast, and have been 
running under royals and studding-sails, from seven to 
ten knots the hour. The thermometer has ranged at 
75, the air has been balmy, and the sky free of clouds. 
What a contrast to the weather of the line, — where 
a cloud gathered before you could turn your eye, and 
where showers fell like water from some vast reser- 
voir, with the bottom suddenly knocked out ! 

A flying-fish, hard pressed by a dolphin, took refuge 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 75 



on the deck of our ship. He might as well have re- 
mained in the sea, for he was instantly secured by- 
one of our sailors, and presented by him to a lady 
passenger, who, with too little feeling, fried and ate 
him. It is true he had the satisfaction of being eaten 
by a lady, which was perhaps preferable to being 
swallowed by a dolphin. How many frantic lovers 
there are who would like to be eaten up by their 
mistress ! Besides, it is in much better taste to dis- 
pose of one's self in this way, than making a plunge 
into the sea to feed a hungry shark. Still, for one, I 
should not like to see a woman coming at me with a 
frying-pan. 

Our batteries, in their black paint, look solid and 
uncompromising. Their threatening strength re- 
minds one of the terrific lines of Campbell, in the 
Battle of the Baltic :— 

" When each gun, 
From its adamantine lips, 
Spread a death-shade round the ships 
Like the hurricane's eclipse 
Of the sun." 

Saturday, Dec. 13. A booby was seen last even- 
ing, at sunset, circling around our masts. He was 
looking where he should light when it should become 
sufficiently dark. He lives on what he can find in 
the sea, but prefers a spar to a wave on which to 
roost. He has sense enough to know that when 



76 DECK AND PORT. 



asleep, the fish may avenge upon him some of the 
wrongs which he inflicts. But he is, after all, a very- 
stupid fellow. He secures his prey often at the ex- 
pense of his life, and that, too, when there is no ne- 
cessity for it. If a little billow casts a dead fish on 
a rock, he poises over it for a moment to be sure of 
his mark, and then plunging down, head first, dashes 
his own brains out ; very much like a politician who 
rushes so hard upon an office that he destroys him- 
self in its attainment. The senate is, in this case, 
the rock on which his little craft splits. 

We are now approaching the region of dolphins, 
porpoises, sharks, and small whales. Our sailors are 
rigging their hooks and harpoons. It will be difficult 
for any thing that comes near us to escape their glit- 
tering steel. Their hostility falls mostly on the 
shark. They regard him as a graver robber. He 
can expect no mercy. The loudest note of exulta- 
tion I ever heard on board a man-of-war, was when 
one of these fellows was brought on board. " There," 
said a rough salt, " you have been prowling about 
here to get a nab at us, and have got nabbed your- 
self — you old blood-sucker !" There are three beings 
that can expect no mercy in misfortune, — a rat, a 
tyrant, and a shark. Of the three I would soonest 
spare the rat ; I always associated something respect- 
able with his long tail. But let that pass. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 77 



Sunday, Dec. 14. We have had the awning 
spread, and have held divine service. All joined in, 
and sung Old Hundred to the hymn commencing 
with the lines — 

" God of the seas, thine awful voice 
Bids all the rolling waves rejoice." 

The impressiveness of a service at sea is owing, 
in part, to the isolation of those on board. There 
is nothing around to distract the attention, or win a 
diverted thought. Around rolls or rests the melan- 
choly main — above stretches the blue heaven, and 
over all reigns that Supreme Intelligence, at whose 
fiat resplendent worlds rolled from chaotic night. 
All is vast and awful, like that state of being into 
which we are ushered at death. It is this that 
makes the sailor religious, and inspires him with re- 
spect for all the great truths which throw their light 
through the night of the grave. 

The errors and vices of the sailor seldom result 
from skepticism. I never met with one who denied 
or doubted the existence of a God, the wickedness 
of the human heart, or the realities of a future state. 
They attach a much higher offence to a disrespect 
to the Bible, than the use of profane language. They 
seem to think a man's impulses may be wrong, while 
in the main he is good. The spirit is willing, but 
the flesh is weak. They have a law in their mem- 



78 DECK AND PORT. 



bers warring against the law of their mind, and 
bringing them into captivity to Satan ; and yet they 
are free to denounce that captivity, and brand it as 
the source of all their degredation and misery. Their 
loathing spirits, touched with a diviner life, often ex- 
claim, " Who shall deliver us from this body of sin 
and death ?" 

Monday, Dec. 15. We were to-day, at 12 o'clock, 
in lat. 15° 46' s., long. 36° 58' w. We have run 
within the last five days a thousand miles, and are 
now within six hundred and sixty miles- of Rio 
Three or four days more, and we shall probably be 
at rest in one of the most magnificent bays in the 
world. Our ship is in prime condition for displaying 
her symmetry and strength. She is indebted for this 
to the experience and activity of our captain and 
first lieutenant. They are thorough in the details of 
ship duty, and are sustained by efficient officers. To 
keep a man-of-war trig, taxes the profoundest pa- 
tience and energy. It requires an eye that sees 
every thing, and a fidelity that neglects nothing. 

I saw this morning, at daybreak, an old tar stand- 
ing alone on the forecastle. His stalwart form rose 
in bold relief on the brightening sky. His dark locks 
flowed out from under his tarpaulin upon the wind. 
His large deep eye was fastened on the sun as it 
came whirling up in splendor out of the sea. His 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 79 



large sinewy arms were extended, as if to welcome 
some being that inspired reverence and love ; when 
Milton's sublime apostrophe to light rolled in solemn 
emphasis from his lips : — 

" Hail, holy Light ! offspring of Heaven, first born 
Or of the eternal co-eternal beam ! 
May I express thee unblamed ? since God is light, 
And never but in unapproached light, 
Dwelt from eternity, dwelt then in thee, 
Bright affluence of bright essence increate." 

Tuesday, Dec. 16. This is beautiful sailing ; a 
soft, balmy atmosphere, a smooth sea, and a breeze 
that carries us seven and eight knots the hour. We 
have not taken in our studding-sails for several days ; 
while our royals seemed to have entered into an 
agreement with our broad pennant to stand or come 
down together. The day is not darkened by clouds, 
and the night is filled with the soft light of the moon. 
The stars come out from the blue vault of heaven, 
and blaze with a distinctness and force that makes 
each one seem some central source of exhaust- 
less and unquenchable splendor. Of this high host 
Jupiter leads the way ; to him the eye of the sailor 
turns as that of the Moslem to the crescent that 
glows on the minaret of his prophet. 

An officer to-day, after reprimanding a sailor for 
some alleged neglect of duty, told him to go forward ; 



80 DECK AND PORT. 



that he was such a perfect nondescript that he did 
not know what to do with him. So forward Jack 
went, muttering to himself nondescript— what does 
that mean ? " Here, Wilkins," said he, " can you tell 
me what nondescript means ? the officer of the deck 
called me a nondescript, and I want to know what it 
means — something bad, I suppose, for he was mighty 
angry." " No," said Wilkins, " I don't know what it 
means ; call Tim Shades, he can tell you." Now 
this latter person was a sort of ship's dictionary, and 
though perhaps as ignorant as any on board, had a 
meaning for every thing, and a reason for it besides. 
So Tim Shades came. "What does nondescript 
mean ?" inquired the aggrieved sailor. Our lexicog- 
rapher seemed at first a little puzzled ; but soon set- 
tling his features into oracular solemnity, replied : — 
" Nondescript means one who gets into heaven with- 
out being regularly entered on the books." " Is that 
all it means ?" ejaculated the offended sailor ; " well, 
well, I shall be glad to get there any way, poor sinner 
as I am." Were there more of the spirit of this 
sailor among sectarians, there would be less alterca- 
tion about the right road, and quite as much speed. 

Wednesday, Dec. 17. Another hundred miles of 
the distance that separated us from Rio has been left 
behind. Four hundred miles more remain to be 
traversed. The breeze is extremely light, directly 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 81 



aft, and our studding-sails on both sides, below and 
aloft, are out. We are under a cloud of canvas, 
which hangs over our frigate like the brooding wings 
of the cherubim over the sanctuary of the ark. But 
here I fear the parallel must stop. We have the sacred 
tables, it is true, and the commandments inscribed on 
them, but where is the soul-absorbing reverence they 
should inspire ? 

All hands are at work getting our ship ready for 
port. She is being scoured from stem to stern, out- 
side and in. Every soil on her paint is obliged to 
yield to soap and clean water ; and every weather- 
stain on her rigging is removed. She will look neat 
as a bride approaching the nuptial altar. What is 
there more beautiful on earth than a young and guile- 
less being thus timidly intrusting her destiny to the 
hands of another, — leaving her home, her father, mo- 
ther, brothers and sisters, for a hearth which another 
love has lighted, and where other hopes are to bud 
and bloom ? He 'who can betray the confidence thus 
reposed in him, and break the heart that has treas- 
ured its last trust in his, is callous alike to crime and 
shame. But this is digression. 

Thursday, Dec. 18. As we were exercising to- 
day at general quarters, our ears were startled by 
the cry, " Man overboard !" The life-buoy was in- 
stantly cut away, the ship hove-to, and a boat low- 



82 DECK AND PORT. 



ered. The missing sailor had fallen from the steps 
of the lee gangway, and was discovered before he 
had passed the ship's counter, but immediately dis- 
appeared. He was known to be a good swimmer ; 
the cause of his sudden disappearance is left to con- 
jecture. His head may possibly have struck the 
ship's side with sufficient force to have stunned him, 
or he may have fallen a prey to an enormous shark 
that has been hanging around our ship all the morn- 
ing. A protracted and most diligent search was 
made, but not a trace of him could be found. The 
boat was at last recalled, and our ship filled away. 

The deceased was one of the most intractable and 
dangerous men we had on board. He had knocked 
down one of the. crew in the dark, and stamped on 
the face of another at night, with the apparent in- 
tention of inflicting a mortal wound. No punish- 
ments, no counsels had the slightest effect upon him. 
Captain Du Pont had tried his utmost to reform him. 
He seemed proof both to the language of kindness 
and rebuke. When it was known among the crew 
that he w r as the one that was lost, not a sentiment of 
sorrow or regret was evinced. But on the contrary, 
the crew seemed as if relieved of a calamity by a 
mysterious Providence. This death carries one 
moral lesson with obvious effect to all, and that is, 
to have the sympathy and regret of others in death, 
we must command their friendship and respect in 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 83 



life. No eloquence can proclaim this truth with 
half the effect that this death has done. But the 
appearance of one at the bar of God so utterly un- 
prepared for his last account, is a thought inexpress- 
ibly awful, and should strike the deepest alarm into 
a guilty breast. 

Friday, Dec. 19. We were to-day, at 12 o'clock, 
in lat. 21° 36' s., long. 38° 55' w., 200 miles from 
Cape Frio, and 260 from Rio. The breeze which 
for several days past has often died into a calm, has 
freshened to-day, and is carrying us along with stud- 
ding-sails below and aloft, some six and seven knots. 
We may perhaps get in on Sunday evening, but not 
before. We have seen nothing of the strong west- 
erly winds which prevail in the North Atlantic du- 
ring the winter months, and very little of the north- 
east monsoons found to the south of the equator. 
These winds, like broken-down politicians, have 
blown themselves out. 

A large ship, which, if our glasses speak truly, is 
armed, and bears a broad pennant, is in sight. All 
hands have been called to quarters, the breeching of 
the guns cast loose, the match-buckets stationed, 
cutlasses and pistols belted, the magazines opened, 
and every thing ready for an engagement. Our com- 
modore' will never be taken by surprise. His ship is 
ready at any moment for action. To this subject 



84 DECK AND PORT. 



he gives his personal attention. Every division of 
the guns is exercised under his immediate supervi- 
sion. His presence, and the interest he takes in the 
exercise, encourages and animates the men. He 
has an enthusiasm himself which he infuses into 
others. 

" Our bosoms we'll bear to the glorious strife, 
And our oath is recorded on high, 
To prevail in the cause that is dearer than life, 
Or crushed in its ruins to die." 

Saturday, Dec. 20. " Land-ho !" This cry from 
the man in the fore-top sent an exulting thrill this 
morning through our whole ship. We have been on 
the ocean fifty-two days, and not an island or even 
desolate rock have we seen. Our eyes have rested 
only on the sky and melancholy main. But now a 
towering headland welcomes us to a new clime and 
the wonders of a new shore. Mr. Morgan, our mas- 
ter, calculated that we should discover land this 
morning at half past eleven, on our starboard bow. 
Within ten minutes of the time, and bearing pre- 
cisely as he had calculated, Cape Frio was announced 
by the man in the fore-top. This, after an absence 
from land of more than seven weeks, and the sailing 
of more than six thousand miles, speaks well for our 
chronometers, and the scientific accuracy of our sail- 
ing-master. 



PASSAGE TO RIO. 85 



We have been running, for several hours past, 
twelve knots, with the wind on our quarter. We 
shot past a Brazilian brig on the same course, as if 
she had been at anchor. The line of coast is now 
but a few miles distant, and heaves its soaring peaks 
into the sky. The sun is setting in splendor. As 
the night deepens apace, sheets of moonlight descend 
through the rifts of the floating darkness above, while 
a long train of phosphoric light flashes behind our 
keel. The storm on the lofty coast becomes still 
more grand and awful. Every mountain-peak be- 
comes a blazing fortress, and shakes with the heavy 
thunder. The very sea trembles under this artillery 
of the sky. 

11 And this is in the night : — most glorious night 1 
Thou wert not sent for slumber I let me be 
A sharer in your fierce and far delight, — 
A portion oT the tempest and of thee 1 
How the lit wave shines a phosphoric sea, 
And the big rain comes dancing to the earth ! 
And now again 'tis black, — and now, the glee 
Of the loud hills shakes with its mountain-mirth, 
As if they did rejoice o'er a young earthquake's birth." 
8 



80 



CHAPTER III. 

RIO DE JANEIRO. 

BAT OF RIO. SCENERY. — ASPECT OF THE CITY. ROYAL PALACE AND 

CHATEL. LANCERS AND BABY. MISER ACORDIA. — AQUEDUCT. — MORN- 

INtx RIDE. BOTANIC GARDEN. TEA-PLANT THE SABBATH IN RIO. 

MUSEUM.— NUNNERY. — JEALOUSY OF HUSBANDS. — A POMPOUS FUNERAL. 

THE PLYMOUTH. HON. HENRY A. "WISE.-:— SLAVE-TRADE. — MARRIAGES 

AND DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS. — POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE BRAZIL- 
IANS.— ^TREATMENT OF THE SLAVES. RELIGION. WASHER-WOMEN. 

SAN ANTONIO.— CLIMATE. — THE UNKNOWN COUPLE. DIAMONDS. — FARE- 
WELL TO RIO. 

Land-ho — from the mast-head swelling, 

On the breeze its music throws, 
Like the tones of angels, telling 

Where the soul may find repose. 

Sunday, Dec. 21. We found ourselves on Sun- 
day morning off the harbor of Rio. The first object 
that here arrests the eye is a rocky isle swelling 
abruptly from the sea, and crowned with a pharos, 
that had thrown its light some thirty miles to us the 
night before. Between this and the main land on 
the left, soars another mass of rocks, while a cor- 
responding one rises with a savage aspect on the 
right. These wave-encircled bastions resemble those 
posted by nature on either side of the Dardanelles, 
through which the grim spirits of Europe and Asia 
challenge each other. 

Within the entrance on the left rise the steep 




V 5 «* 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 87 



sides of Sugar-loaf mountain, while on the right frowns 
the lofty fortress of Santa Cruz. Further in looms 
the fortified isle of Lagem, commanding the central 
passage, and throwing its protection over the roman- 
tic cove, from which Bota Foga looks out upon .the 
waters. As the eye wanders further up the bay, it 
encounters the island of Cobras, buried under its 
frowning batteries, and the Ville-Gagnon with its cas- 
tellated summits ; while on the opposite side a giant 
rock has walked out into the waters, and taken up 
its lofty, independent position. 

The bay, studded with picturesque islands, circles 
up bold and beautiful some thirty miles into the main 
land. The shore presents here a glittering beach, 
which retreats into the green recesses of a deep 
ravine, and is there overhung by some stupendous 
cliff, which throws its dark shadows below. The 
whole bay is like a resplendent lake looking to 
heaven amid Alpine pinnacles. High above all soars 
the steep Corcovada, where plays the first blush of 
morn, and where the dying day lingers ; while the 
Organ mountains, with their sharp peaks, pour down 
the harmony of the winds. All between these lofty 
barriers and the quiet bay presents a forest of fan- 
tastic cones ; while swinging depths of shade wave 
over the glad rills that leap down their sides, and make 
music at their base. It would seem as if some vol- 
cano had thrown up these hills in a frolic ; or as if 



88 DECK AND PORT. 



some Titanic spirit, imbued with a love of the won- 
derful, had been permitted to work out its concep- 
tions in these wild shapes. 

The city descends from mountain coves to the 
strand of the bay, like a spreading stream, which en- 
counters here a rolling hill and there a projecting bluff. 
Some of the elevations are crowned with public edi- 
fices, but no princely palace, gorgeous dome, or glit- 
tering spire, strongly arrests the eye. The architecture 
of man here is so inferior to that of nature, it ought 
to make an apology whenever it shows itself. It is 
like the tent of an Arab throwing up its dirty cone 
beneath the magnificent umbrage of the palm. It is 
said the genius of a people is in harmony with the 
scenery in the midst of which they have been reared ; 
but here is scenery that might almost throw sun- 
bows over the dreams of the dead, and architecture 
sombre enough to send even a Quaker to sleep. Such 
is the aspect of the city as seen from our frigate, 
swinging at her anchors in front of the imperial pal- 
ace. A nearer view may possibly bring out some 
concealed beauty. But cities, like fashionable wo- 
men, are very apt to betray their charms at the first 
blush. 

Monday, Dec 22. I visited the shore to-day, in 
company with Dr. Mosely and Mr. Spieden, our 
purser. We landed in front of the pal ace- square. A 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 89 



flight of broken wood steps took us to the top of 
the sea-wall, where we found ourselves on a paved 
parapet, presenting an open area of several hundred 
feet, which was broken only by the dark form of a 
fountain, from which the water fell in profusion. We 
here encountered a swarm of half-naked slaves, suffi- 
ciently diversified in their features to represent every 
African tribe from which they were stolen. Some 
had not lost their first look of wonder, while others 
seemed as those in whom grief and hope had long 
since perished. They were engaged in transporting 
merchandise, and seemed to be the walking drays of 
the city. They carry these enormous burdens on 
their heads, and trot along with a sonorous grunt, 
which works itself off into a sort of song. You won- 
der how they can have so much wind to spare for 
their tune. 

We next encountered a little carriage, with a child 
in it, drawn by a diminutive pony. You might al- 
most put the whole establishment into a good sized 
market-basket. It was attended by some half dozen 
slaves, who seemed extremely anxious about their 
charge. Where they were going I know not ; but 
the whole group presented a striking picture of the 
extremes of human life. That child would have been 
just as happy in the strong arms of its nurse ; the 
globe would probably have turned on its axle just as 
long ; but parental pride and folly would not have 

8* 



90 DECK AND PORT. 



been gratified. This is a small outbreak of the aris- 
tocratic sentiment — a sentiment not primitive. 

" When Adam delved and Eve span, 
Where was then the gentleman V* 

The royal palace has no charms of aix v hitecture. 
It is a long, low, and rather heavy-looking building, 
with ballustraded windows, and stuccoed walls. 
Within the iron gratings of the court the form of a 
black soldier moved to and fro, on guard ; while 
others stretched at length on benches, or sitting in 
the corners of the walls, were sound asleep. The 
whole was a breathing type of that listlessness and 
slumber which falls on the soldier guarding in a time 
of profound peace an empty palace. This palace 
might be converted into a warehouse without ever 
awaking in the visiter a suspicion of the regal use to 
which it had been put. 

We passed on to the royal chapel, which stands 
near by, and which communicates with the palace 
through the silent halls of a monastery. The exte- 
rior of the chapel presents only its front to the eye, 
surmounted by a cross, and relieved by a mimic 
crown which reposes in a central niche, The inte- 
rior is adorned with a profusion of gilding, and con- 
tains several private boxes, where the occupants may 
conceal themselves behind crimson curtains. We 
found in the oratory a dozen priests or monks, chant- 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 91 



ing their devotions. Two of them were laughing 
most immoderately. They seemed to make every 
effort to suppress their risible impulses, and would 
now and then succeed so far as to present for a mo- 
ment a grave countenance, but the ludicrous would 
immediately gain the ascendency, and the laughter 
burst out. I once saw the gravity of a whole con- 
gregation in one of our largest country churches irre- 
trievably disturbed. An owl had perched himself on 
the key of the arch directly over the choir ; the cler- 
gyman had given out the hymn commencing with 
the words, 

* Hark from the tombs, a doleful sound." 

As the singers rose, and just as the leader was going 
to pitch the pathetic tune, the owl, as if taking this 
duty on himself, gave a solemn hoot ! They who 
were troubled with a quick sense of the ludicrous, 
couldn't hold in for a moment, and the infection 
spread to the whole congregation. 

Tuesday, Dec. 23. I came near being captured 
to-day by a troop of lancers. They were riding at 
full speed before two carriages, in one of which lay 
the infant emperor, in its nurse's arms, and in the 
other chatted the servants in attendance on the baby. 
The lancers had the important bearing of Roman co- 
horts, ushering Caesar into the imperial city after the 



92 DECK AND PORT. 



triumphs of his African campaign. How far the 
baby was benefitted by this military display, or the 
lactant provisions of its nurse increased, I was not 
informed. 

Turning away, I soon encountered a woman with 
her infant lashed to her back. The little fellow reposed 
in the bunt of a shawl, the corners of which were 
fastened over the breast of his mother. He kept his 
eye on me, as I walked behind him, but with no signs 
of fear ; he well knew that the love which carried 
him would protect him. His mother was still in 
youth, moved with an elastic step, and evinced her 
cheerfulness of heart in her animated face. How 
strikingly this group contrasts itself with that in the 
imperial carriage ! Pomp was there, but heart here. 
Between a venal homage of soldiers and a mother's 
love who could hesitate ? The last will live and 
throb with undying strength, when the other is a 
breathless mockery. 

Wednesday, Dec. 24. We visited to-day the Mis- 
eracordia, a noble monument of Brazilian humanity. 
Hundreds, who would otherwise have died unnoticed 
and unknown in the streets, have here experienced, 
in their last hours, those attentions which religion and 
benevolence bestow upon the destitute and helpless. 
A statue of the Emperor, in the finest Carrara mar- 
ble, is being executed by an Italian artist, for this 



RIO DE JANEIRO! 93 



institution, at the private expense of a wealthy Bra- 
zilian. 

Long may that statue stand on its pedestal, a true 
symbol of the humanity of him whom it represents. 
One king in an hospital has more true glory than a 
thousand on the field of carnage. It is a false view 
of the moral characteristics of our nature, to find 
more honor in killing a man than comforting him. 
It is doing homage to the thieves, who robbed the 
traveller and left him for dead, instead of the good 
Samaritan, who bound up his wounds and took him 
to an inn. 

We passed on to the Aqueduct, which is brought 
over this section of the city upon a succession of 
lofty arches, which sweep high over the dwellings. 
This national work, constructed under the viceroyal- 
ty of Vasconcellas, is in imitation of the Alcantra 
aqueduct at Lisbon, and reflects lasting honor on its 
projector. It is supplied with water from artificial 
lakes in the Corcovada mountain. The summit of 
this mountain is covered with wild forest- trees, which 
being cooler than the surrounding atmosphere, con- 
dense the vapor, which falls in showers into these 
lakes. To this beautiful law of nature Rio is in- 
debted for that refreshing element without which she 
would be but little better than a desert. 

In giving a community pure water to drink, you 
take from the tippler his standing apology for putting 



94 DECK AND PORT. 

rum in it. You reduce him to that pain in the 
stomach from which he finds no relief except in the 
minted toddy. When among the temperate, this per- 
petual colic will sometimes twist him almost double. 
Poor fellow ! to have such a pain, and no relief ex- 
cept in rum, and even this very much embarrassed 
by the refusal of others to drink it. What business 
has a man to stop drinking himself, if doing so makes 
it disreputable in others ? He should be held re- 
sponsible for bringing odium on that horn of poor 
human nature's dilemma. Let whisky be as plenty 
as water, and it would be a beastly disgrace to get 
drunk on it. Can three cents turn vulgarity into 
gentility, shame into honor, and guilt into innocence ? 

" would some power the giftie gie us, 
To see oursels as others see us." 

Thursday, Dec. 25. Mr. Livingston, Dr. Mosely, 
Mr. Spieden, with myself, chartered this morning a 
carriage-and-four for the day. Our first drive was 
to the residence of the American minister, some 
three miles out of the city, and in the centre of a 
vast variety of rural charms. We found Mr. Wise 
listening to the grievances of two American sailors, 
who had been unceremoniously thrown ashore by 
their captains. His action was prompt and ener- 
getic, as it always is when there are rights to be 
vindicated, or wrongs to be redressed. 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 95 



We spent a very agreeable and entertaining hour 
with him, and called for our carriage, when we dis- 
covered that our postillion had unharnessed his steeds 
and put them very quietly to the manger, thinking, 
no doubt, that as the fodder would cost him nothing, 
it was by no means best to let it pass. While he 
was harnessing up, a servant connected with the im- 
perial palace came in for his Christmas token. He 
had called, it seemed, on the morning of the happy 
day, and wished the American minister a merry 
Christmas, and had now come for his fee. The same 
call, with the same salutation, had been made on all 
the foreign ministers, and all were expected to 
" shell out" very liberally on the occasion. Usage 
is law, and the result is very expensive merry wishes. 
I intend next year to wish the whole world a merry 
Christmas. 

Seated once more in our carriage, we found our 
postillion whirling us back to the city, instead of 
taking the rode to the Botanic Garden, to which we 
were bound. We explained our wishes to him, think- 
ing he labored under a misapprehension ; but a shrug 
of his shoulders convinced us that he was acting 
from obstinacy. We then poured our remonstrances, 
reproaches, and threats upon him, in half a dozen 
different languages, creating quite a little Babel. 
Shaking his head like one whose purpose, but not 
will, is broken, he turned into the right road, and 



96 DECK AND PORT. 



drove his horses, at the top of their speed, under a 
broiling sun, to Bota Foga, about half the distance to 
the Garden, but then brought up in front of a re- 
staurant, declaring his horses could proceed no 
further. 

We ordered for them a bucket or two of fresh 
water, and after resting a few moments, directed the 
postillion to drive on ; but not a step would he budge. 
Here was a poser, a sort of crisis in our affairs, as 
political leaders say when they wish to rally the 
strength of their party. We gave our postillion one 
minute in which to decide whether he would drive 
us to the Garden, or be ousted from his seat to make 
room for another who would drive us there. He 
waited till the last second, and then started off sulk- 
ily, as one in doubt whether to fight or yield. At 
lasf we reached the little hotel near the Garden, 
where we alighted, and directed the keeper to take 
the best care of the horses. In the mean time, we 
pushed into a neighboring grove, where we indulged 
in the luxuries of a lunch, which our provident pur- 
ser had brought from the ship, and for which our 
ride had given us a keen appetite. This finished, 
and a few segars whiffed off, we directed a dinner, 
and proceeded to the Garden. 

This refreshing retreat from the heat and dust of 
the city, derives its leading attractions from its loca- 
tion. Beyond rolls the sea, and over it towers the 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 97 



lofty Corcovada. It occupies some fifty acres, and 
is intersected by winding walks, which are overhung 
with forest shade. Several of the plats are devoted 
to the cultivation of the tea plant, which had been 
introduced by the father of the present emperor. 
Although the plant has never succeeded to perfec- 
tion, it has approached it sufficiently to have satisfied 
the good ladies of Boston, whose husbands had 
thrown their Chinese dreams into the sea. What a 
scene such an interference with the phlegathontic 
weed would create around our hearths ! Think you 
our ladies would so quietly have taken to spearmint 
and sage ? But let that pass. 

In other plats we met with the cinnamon, the red 
pepper, and the clove, all in fruit. But aromatics 
are the last plants that will consent to carry their 
fragrance with them into foreign climes. The walks 
are overhung with the mango, the orange, the mar- 
mosa, and dark olive, while the croton and plantain 
cast in every coppice the deep umbrage of their for- 
est gloom. 

On one side of the garden a silver-footed stream- 
let dashes down the steeps of the Corcovada, like a 
girl escaping from a crabbed aunt for Gretna Green. 
Near this rises an elliptical mound, crowned with a 
beautiful bower of the arbor vitae. This vivacious 
shrub allows itself to be twisted into a thousand fan- 
tastic shapes, without a thought of dying. In this 

9 



98 DECK AND PORT. 



bower, which is so thickly interlaced as. to exclude 
the sun, I sought a wicker couch, and, lulled by the 
lapse of the waters, and the melody of a mourning 
bird, fell asleep, and dreamed of 

" Groves, whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm, 
Flowers of all hue, and without thorn the rose. 1 ' 

We returned to the hotel, discussed a very indif- 
ferent dinner, ordered up our carriage, and started^ 
on our return to the city. The evening came in 
with a soft beautiful twilight. We passed many 
family groups seated in the front yards of their 
houses enjoying the hour. Here and there-was one- 
who had deeper thoughts than her younger sisters, 
and whose large black eyes were often turned to the 
climbing moon. 

We called on our return upon Mr. Furgeson, our 
naval store-keeper at Rio, a situation which he fills 
with a fidelity and business tact, which have the 
merited confidence of the department. 

The evening had well advanced when we reached 
the city. We discharged our postillion in the same 
sulky humor in which he had been all day. He had 
ihe look and air of an old pirate, thrown by some 
freak of fortune into livery, and upon the box of a 
coach instead of the scaffold. All his ill temper 
arose from the fact that we had not promised him a 
gratuity. We had engaged to give his employer 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 



twelve dollars for the carriage, and we should not 
have forgotten him had he been civil and obliging. 
His conduct, like that of most people when they get 
out of temper, worked him only evil. 

Dl fortune rides ill will where'er it leads. 

, Friday, Dec. 26. The United States frigate Co- 
lumbia, commanded by Capt. Richie, and bearing the 
broad pennant of Commodore Rousseau, arrived this 
morning from Norfolk. She has had, by a singular 
'^coincidence, the same passage as the Congress — 
.fifty- two days.. I 'was right glad to find on board of 
her, as chaplain, my esteemed friend, the Rev. T. R. 
Lambert. A portion of her crew are down with the 
smallpox, which broke out in the person of one of her 
marines several days after she had sailed. All direct 
communication with her has been interdicted ; but 
we met her officers, who are very agreeable asso- 
ciates, on shore. We expected letters by the Co- 
lumbia, but her departure followed so fast on our 
own that very few were sent. 

The Columbia is a fine frigate, combining speed, 
strength, and grace of architecture. Near her swings 
the frigate Raritan, under the command of Captain 
Gregory. She has less beauty than her sister, is low 
between her decks, and her spikes, with their black 
heads, disfigure her planks ; but she rides the water 
gracefully, and is a-,swift sailor. For this, however, 



100 DECK AND PORT. 



she may be indebted, in some degree, to the skill of 
her commander, whose sagacity in detecting and 
bringing out the latent qualities of a ship is seldom 
baffled. Her wardroom, though dark from without, 
has light from within ; not that which strays from a 
few dim tapers, but from the spirit that is in man, 
and which will still stream on when life's taper itself 
is out. 

Saturday, Dec. 27. Her Britannic Majesty's frig- 
ate President, under the command of Rear- Admiral 
Dacres, entered the harbor to-day, and let go her an- 
chors within a few cables length of us. She is the 
new-fledged phenix of the old one, captured from us 
in the last war. The parent has perished, but her 
memory still survives in the glorious triumphs of De 
catur, as well as in this fledgling which bears hei 
name. The old bird was captured by an overwhelm- 
ing superiority of force ; not by greater tact or cour- 
age. No laurels were won or lost. 

The offspring which has arisen from her relics, is 
now bearing the pennant of one who was himself, 
while commanding the Guerrier, captured by the 
Constitution, under Commodore Hull. But he fought 
his ship well ; it was no want of courage that allowed 
victory to perch on our flag. He had no resource 
but to surrender, or sink in a dismantled hulk. The 
English journals affected to prefer the last catastro # 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 101 



phe ; but this does very well for those who are not 
themselves in the hulk. The bubbles which brim the 
watery grave of the sailor may break and disappear 
as other bubbles ; but when they ascend from our 
own strangling gasps, they carry with them agonies 
which should shake a world. The capture of the 
Guerrier, and the triumphs which followed, broke the 
charm of British invincibility. That dream of su- 
premacy fled the ocean, never to return — 

" That spell upon the minds of men, 
Broke, never to unite again." 

* 

Sunday, Dec. 28. Were a stranger to the reli- 
gious habits of a Catholic community thrown into Rio 
on the Sabbath, he would think he had mistaken his 
sabbatical calendar. He would think he had arrived 
on some holiday, in which the serious concerns of 
life yield to gayety. He would see this spirit of 
social mirth pervading all classes. Even the bells 
would have a glee in their tones. He would find the 
priests in the promenade instead of the pulpit, with 
their large-rimmed hats rolled up over the ear, and 
the solemnity of their sable gowns in singular con- 
trast with the levity that runs through their manner. 

Such is the Sabbath where the principles of Prot- 
estantism have not obtained, and where its spirit is 
not felt. It is a day of amusement and recreation. 
Such it has ever been in everv country where the 

9* 



102 DECK AND PORT. 



genius of papacy has been paramount. Such it is 
now in Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. Let the 
see of Rome roll its waves over the Protestant in- 
stitutions of the United States, and it would sweep 
the sanctity of the Sabbath from the land. There 
would not be enough of its vitality left to embalm 
the memory of our pilgrim fathers. To rebuke those 
who abuse religion is not to disparage its spirit. 

" All hail, Religion ! maid divine, 
Pardon a muse so mean as mine, 
Who, in his rough, imperfect line, 

Thus dares to name thee ; 
To stigmatize false friends of thine, 
Can ne'er defame thee." 

Monday, Dec 29. Visited the Museum of Natural 
History. Here the beautiful birds of Brazil speak in 
dumb show, and her minerals seem to mourn their 
mines. But the specimens are not extensive. The 
Public Library, in another building, contains some 
twenty thousand volumes, which slumber in dust on 
their shelves. The Academy of Fine Arts has a 
few specimens in statuary and painting ; but none 
that would kindle an eye that has once gazed on the 
triumphs of a Phidias or a Raphael. The Opera 
House has elegant and ample accommodations for 
spectators, but no performers. 

All these institutions were established by Don 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 103 



Pedro I., but have been on the decline since his ab- 
dication. It was his ambition to make Rio a second 
Lisbon ; but his plans outran his means. Mafra 
Castle alone, with its time-honored towers and their 
hundred and twenty bells, rolling out their anthems 
on the airs of old Portugal, leave all that Rio can 
present, like an afterpiece from which the auditory 
has escaped. 

The great mass of the laboring classes in Rio sub- 
sist on the farina of the jatrapha-plant, made into a 
coarse bread, called pan de tierre caliente. It is man- 
ufactured from the same plant of which the tapioca is 
obtained. This, with the black bean, which grows 
in great abundance, is with them the staple of life. 
The more luxurious bread-stuffs are imported. Even 
meat, amidst all this teeming vegetation, is scarce and 
dear. Every thing here runs to coffee, of which a 
hundred and thirty millions of pounds are exported 
annually, which goes to foreign markets, and brings 
back, in the great circle of commerce, the products 
of every other clime. 

Tuesday, Dec. 30. Visited the queen's garden, 
which covers some six acres, and lies within the en- 
virons of the city, between the Miseracordia and 
Gloria Hill, and opens by a broad terrace on the bay. 
The gravelled walks, which sweep around in every 
direction, are over-arched by swinging masses of 



104 DECK AND PORT. 



shade. The cassia waves here by the side of the 
silver-leaved myrtle, and the imperial laurel — the 
shamrock of Brazil — turns its green yellow-striped 
leaves to the sun ; while two small pyramids of 
granite stand as grim sentinels over the proprieties 
of the place. A tough job, it is said, they have of 
it, when the young of the city flock here in the even- 
ng, though their watch duties are aided by conjugal 
jealousy and parental vigilance. 

Not far removed from the garden, and in harmony 
with some of its associations, stands a nunnery, 
which, considering the uses to which it is put, might 
with propriety be called the bridal prison. Hus- 
bands, leaving the country or the city for any length 
of time, are in the habit of shutting up their wives 
and children in this nunnery. A beautiful exhibi- 
tion of conjugal love and confidence ! But where 
are the confessors all this time with their compulsory 
vows of celibacy, and that latitude of conscience 
which compulsion always leaves ? Better to trust a 
wife to her own affections than the guidance of men 
whom superstition has invested with the power to 
pardon the errors of human frailty, who can commit 
sin one hour, and cancel it with all parties the next. 
Ecclesiastical rules and regulations, which deprive 
any portion of the community of the privileges of the 
marriage state, pave the way to crime. They are a 
violation of the laws of nature and nature's God. 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 105 



On our return we stopped at the imperial chapel, 
where preparations were making for a sumptuous 
funeral. The chapel was brilliantly lighted ; the 
priests were in their gorgeous robes ; and the dark 
carriage of the dead soon arrived, with four black 
horses, and postillions in sable plumes. The body 
was placed near the great altar, candles were placed 
in the hands of those who crowded the nave, and 
amid a shower of light the chant for the repose of 
the soul began. 

One of the candles set fire to the long locks of a 
fashionable youth standing near the bier. The priest 
who was sprinkling the holy water, dashed a shower 
of it upon his head, while a suppressed laughter 
shook the whole crowd. The prayers finished, — the 
bier was removed to the enclosure in the rear of the 
church, the body taken from the coffin, and thrown 
up into a niche in the wall, resembling a baker's oven. 
It was tossed in head first, and the aperture being 
small and high, it required no little tact in the swing- 
ing and cant to secure it a proper lodgment. Lime 
and holy water were then cast upon it, and the ori- 
fice closed. Sooner than have such a burial as this, 
with scorching hair, laughter, an oven, and dissolv- 
ing lime, let me glide from earth unnoticed and un- 
known, as a flower falls in the pathless wilderness, 
and let my grave be a sunless cave of ocean, only 
let me have there as mourner : — 



106 DECK AND PORT. 



The mermaid, whose elegiac shell 

Shall pour its tender stave, 
In many a wild and fond farewell, 

Around my sea-green grave. 

Wednesday, Dec. 31. Visited to-day the Plymouth, 
under the command of Capt. Henry. She is one of 
the most finished specimens of naval architecture 
afloat ; and the neatness of her internal appearance 
corresponds with her outward grace and beauty. 
Her light spar-deck, running flush fore and aft, un- 
encumbered by a gun ; her bulwarks sweeping from 
stem to stern without a breaking beam, and clouded 
into the hue of the pearl ; her gun-carriages exhibiting 
through their hard varnish the native grain of the 
oak, and the guns presenting the hard polish of their 
cylinders ; her stanchions of burnished iron, her sides 
and bends without a weather-stain, and her ham- 
mocks rising above their netting white as the snow- 
rift, — all have the finest effect. She reflects, in every 
aspect in which she may be viewed, the highest 
credit on the taste and professional skill of Qaptain 
Henry and his officers. 

She came here from the Mediterranean, after hav- 
ing visited most of the ports in that sea, and paid her 
respects to the grand sultan at Constantinople. She 
was there, as she is here, the admiration of all who 
visited her. Such a ship as this, with the soft clime 
of Italy, the storied shores of Greece, and the classic 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 107 



associations of the ^Egean isles, would be the perfec- 
tion of cruising with the scholar, and would involve 
nothing incompatible with the sterner purposes of a 
man-of-war. 



Thursday, Jan. 1, 1846. This is new-year's day, 
and the anniversary of the discovery of the bay of Rio 
by Salis. The Brazilian flag is flying from the public 
buildings and the masts of all the vessels in the har- 
bor. Salutes from fortifications and national ships are 
pouring their reverberating thunder among the hills. 

Commodore Stockton has graced the occasion in 
the shape of a splendid dinner to the Hon. Henry A. 
Wise. Many ladies and gentlemen of Rio, with the 
officers of the English and American squadrons, were 
present. The most perfect good feeling prevailed ; 
many patriotic sentiments went round ; and many 
recollections of home melted their way into our 
hearts. 

The honor of the occasion was for Mr. Wise ; nor 
was it unworthily bestowed. He has been a firm, 
devoted friend -to the navy ; he has stood by her in 
her darkest hours, and found, in the triumphs of the 
past % a bright prophecy of the future. He has been, 
at the court of Brazil, the fearless champion of the 
rights and claims of humanity. He has shrunk from 
no efforts and no responsibility in crushing the slave- 
trade. Where selfish ease suggested silence, he has 



108 DECK AND PORT. 



spoken ; where timidity urged a temporizing indiffer- 
ence, he has resolutely acted. His moral firmness 
has made him the terror of every slaver, and of all 
connected with this accursed traffic. If he resigns 
his present post, may his successor, in this respect at 
least, tread in his footsteps. 

Friday, Jan. 2. A Brazilian lady was pointed 
out to me to-day who is but twelve years of age, 
and who has two children, who were frolicking 
around her steps. She was married at ten to a 
wealthy merchant of sixty-five, — a spring violet 
caught in a curling snow-drift! But ladies here 
marry extremely young. They have hardly done 
with their fictitious babies, when they have the smiles 
and tears of real ones. Their parents make the 
matches, as well they may at that age ; and they 
ought in conscience to retain still the spanking priv- 
ilege, and exercise it down to the third generation. 

The evidences of consideration here turn upon a 
two or four wheeled vehicle, which is -kept in the 
basement story of the house, and throws the sheen 
of its varnish on the eye of the passer. Whether 
there is a horse to draw it or not, is a matter of com- 
paratively little importance. It answers its essential 
purpose without. It is a quiet indication of rank, 
and all the better that its slumber is seldom broken. 

In the parlors and apartments above, vou find the 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 109 

transmitted furniture of past generations. Antiquity 
has a charm against which novelty cannot prevail. 
The same chair in which the departed ancestor 
trembled between this life and the next, still stands 
by the verandah, where budding beauty breathes and 
throbs. The same old harp, which was swept by a 
hand that has long since forgotten its cunning, now 
wakes to melody under the touch of one in whom 
life's earliest pulses play. Its music ever floats be- 
tween the cradle and the grave. 

Saturday, Jan. 3. This is a holiday at Rio, and 
the calkers* from shore, who are at work on our frig- 
ate, knocked off last evening, refusing to come this 
morning unless their per diem should be raised fifty 
per cent. As we are anxious to get to sea, their de- 
mand has been complied with. Conscience, it would 
seem, has no concern in the matter, though it is a 
saint's day, and one of the most sacred in their calen- 
dar. How very convenient when that little inward 
troubler can be tied up in a man's purse, and stowed 
away in his breeches pocket ! 

Rio is a city without chimneys, and strikes one as 
a regiment of soldiers without caps. A vein of smoke 
is never seen circling up over its red-tiled roofs. The 
mildness of the climate dispenses with all parlor fires, 
except the gleam of the brasero. The houses, which 
rarely exceed two stories, are built of fragmented 
10 



110 DECK AND PORT. 



stones and a species of mortar, which the air indu- 
rates into the solidity of a cement. The parlors are 
in the second story, and open out on a verandah. 
The servants divide the ground-floor with the old 
spaniel, who looks out from the dusky background 
like the lion of Agamemnon, still keeping stern watch 
over his master's gloomy shrine. 

The domestic habits of the Brazilians, and their 
household economy, are closely shrouded ; yet now 
and then, like guilty love, they betray themselves 
through their very disguises. They have but little 
confidence in their own virtue, and still less in yours ; 
and, as might be expected, betray and are betrayed. 
Redress for such grievances is seldom sought through 
the forms of law. The stiletto makes less noise, and 
is more certain in its results. Don Pedro I. put his 
very throne in jeopardy by his profligacies. He 
brought ruin and indignant shame into some of the 
first families in Brazil. His victims were in every 
circle. The conditions of office involved their mar- 
riage, without interfering with this illicit relation. 
He was abusive to his wife, as false husbands gener- 
ally are, and went to his grave with but little which 
friendship itself would not conceal. 

Sunday, Jan. 4. The slave-trade is still carried 
on in the ports of Brazil. The government, though 
committed by treaty against it, connives at the traffic 



RIO DE JANEIRO. Ill 



From ten to fifteen thousand slaves are imported an- 
nually. Of these the Mina, from the north interior 
of Africa, brings with him the greatest force of char- 
acter. He never trifles with the misfortunes of his 
lot, and submits indignantly to a state of servitude. 
He speaks his deep-sounding Arabic, and looks with 
contempt upon the twattle of the other tribes. He 
has the bearing of one conscious of resources in him- 
self. His energy and industry often procure him his 
liberty. His presence in Brazil puts the stability of 
her institutions in peril. It is apprehended he may 
one day strike for unconditional freedom. He is not 
a being who will crave quarter, or be very likely 
to grant it. It will be with him a life and death 



struggle. 



&&' 



Monday, Jan. 5. The United States frigate Raritan 
has arrived from La Plata, and reports that the Eng- 
lish and French are still engaged fighting their way 
up the Parana for the purpose of opening a perma- 
nent communication with the interior provinces. 
The general opinion here is, that Governor Rosas will 
be obliged to abandon the blockade of Monte Video, 
and consent to the commercial communications de- 
manded by England and France. Popular opinion 
here runs strongly in favor of free trade the world 
over. 

The Brazilians do not like the interference of Eu- 



112 DECK AND PORT. 

ropean powers in the affairs of this continent, but 
they dislike anarchy and despotism still more. 
They are the advocates of free constitutional govern- 
ment, and have embodied its most essential principles 
in their political institutions. The Emperor of Bra- 
zil has but little more power than the President of 
the United States. Law take its shape from the na- 
tional legislature, and from that branch of it which 
expresses the popular will. This branch can at any 
time force a joint vote with the senate, and carry a 
measure by its numerical strength. This can indeed 
be vetoed by the emperor, but it would be an exer- 
cise of prerogative seldom resorted to, and never, I 
believe, where the popular will has been clearly ex- 
pressed. 

The condition of the slave population here is much 
less abject and wretched than I expected to find it. 
Slaves are generally treated with kindness and hu- 
manity by their masters. Their color operates less 
to their prejudice than with us. Their freedom, in 
many cases, lies within their reach, and may be ob- 
tained, as it often is, by industry and frugality. The 
owner who should demand an exorbitant price for a 
slave, who wishes to earn his freedom, would be se- 
verely censured. When free, he goes to the ballot- 
box, and„is eligible to a seat in the national legisla- 
ture. 

Nor would anybody here go into hysterics should he 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 113 



marry a woman whose skin should be a shade whiter 
than his own. It is for us Americans to preach up 
humanity, freedom, and equality, and then turn up 
our blessed noses if an African takes a seat at the 
same table on board a steamboat. Even in our 
churches he is obliged to look out some obscure nook, 
and dodge along towards heaven as if he had no bu- 
siness on the "narrow way." The misery is, that 
they who preach equality the loudest, are generally 
the last to practice it. They are generally for level- 
ling downwards ; but give me the man who tries to 
level upwards. Give me the man whose smiles are 
like the rays of the sun — if they strike the loftiest 
objects first, it is only that tjjey may glance to the 
lowest. 

Tuesday, Jan. 6. The religion of the Brazilians, 
as seen in their legislative policy, is less trammelled 
by superstition than in most countries where Papacy 
prevails. The Pope, a few years since, sent a legate 
to this court. It is expected, in such cases, that the 
salary of the legate will be paid by the country to 
which he is accredited. But the Brazilian legisla- 
ture, not having the fear of the Vatican before their 
eyes, voted that his holiness might pay his own rep- 
resentative. He was of course recalled. Sucft has 
been the abuse here of ecclesiastical supremacy, such 
its interference in political affairs, and such its oner- 
10* 



114 DECK AND PORT. 



cms pecuniary exactions, that there has been a sweep- 
ing reaction, and the civil power of the Pope is 
openly set at defiance. 

As for the priests here, should they attempt to set 
up any secular authority, they would only expose 
themselves to derision. There is vastly more rever- 
ence for the decisions of the Papal see among the 
Roman Catholics of our country, than there is among 
the Brazilians. Were a bishop here to interfere at 
an election, it would cost him his episcopate. It is 
for us Americans to submit to such an outrage on 
the sanctity of the ballot-box. 

Wednesday, Jan. 7 m I encountered to-day, on a 
large public square within the environs of the city, a 
washing-scene, which was rather primitive. The 
square is carpeted with green grass medallioned with 
flowers, and shaded here and there by clusters of 
forest trees. In the midst stands a fountain, from 
which the water falls in light showers into an im- 
mense basin. In this basin some two hundred fe- 
males, of every age, clime, and color, were dashing 
their clothes, and rubbing them on the great sweep 
of the curb-stone. Their apparel, what little they 
had on, was fastened above the knee ; the water in 
the basin was a pool of foaming suds, and they were 
jumping about in it like the Nereids of the Nile. 
The younger ones were full of mischief, and dis 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 115 



played their agility in tripping each other up. The 
fall of one into the suds was followed by a general 
shout. How they escaped having their clothes inex- 
tricably mixed up in this general melee of the great 
wash-tub, was a mystery to me. 

On the green were hundreds of others occupied 
with their clothes. Some were snapping them in 
the wind ; some spreading them on the grass to dry ; 
some folding them up and depositing them in baskets, 
to be transported on their heads home ; and others 
were under the shade of the trees asleep. Some 
trick, however, such as a dash of water from the 
bowl, was sure to await the dreamer ; and then an- 
other laugh would be thrown on the wind. As twi- 
light came on, all this panorama of life, with its 
breathing forms, its triumphs in laundry, and its mer- 
riments, disappeared. Nothing but the whisper of 
the leaf, or the bubble which still floated on the foun- 
tain, remained to tell where such a bustle had been. 

What a magnificent washtub one of our great 
western lakes would make ! It would hold all the 
clothes, clean and unclean, which cover the human 
race. There is only one difficulty in the way of this 
arrangement : it would be a little awkward to have 
the lake freeze over in the dead of winter. This, 
however, might be prevented by introducing under 
it the volcano of Vesuvius, which is of no use where 
it now stands. This done, and Whitney's railroad 



116 DECK AND PORT. 



to the Pacific finished, and we shall truly be a great 
nation. But our women will never consent to have 
the small clothes perilled in Lake Superior; so there 
is an end to the whole business^ 

Thursday, Jan. 8. Rambled on shore to-day with 
Lieut. Gray, and returned several calls. Every 
family in Rio, where superstition asserts her sway, 
has two things, an image of St. Antonio and a whip. 
If the saint, after being duly invoked, still refuses to 
grant the boon craved, he is taken down from his 
niche and soundly whipped. This chastisement is 
repeated till the prayer is answered, or some priest 
interferes, and consoles the disappointed with the 
persuasion that the blessing sought has been, or will 
be, conferred in some other form. This compulsory 
process with a saint, accounts for the maimed state 
in which you always find poor Antonio here. There 
is something unique and interesting in this mode of 
obtaining benefactions. If a saint wont shell out, 
when he has the power, why should he not be whip- 
ped as well as a sinner ? 

We encountered to-day a Brazilian lady of rank in 
her palankeen. She was carried by two sturdy 
slaves, and followed by a retinue of servants. She 
was evidently bound on a visit to some female ac- 
quaintance, with whom she expected to spend the 
day. Her attendants must also be provided for. 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 117 



Such an arrival in a quiet family would turn the 
whole house topsy-turvy. The further we get from 
the heart, the more bustle we make. The forms of 
fashionable etiquette, like feathers in a lady's bonnet, 
are full of flare and flutter. 

Friday, Jan. 9. On shore to-day with Lieutenant 
Tilghman, rambling through the environs of the city, 
and on the green hills which overlook the bay. Capt. 
Wilkes, in his history of the exploring expedition, 
calls this place St. Salvador. The Brazilians laugh 
at the misnomer, and enjoy it the more as the cap- 
tain's comments are deemed by them censorious and 
unjust. It was an unfortunate slip of the pen to 
write St. Salvador for St. Sebastian, and still more 
unfortunate to stereotype it into immortality. 

The primitive name of this splendid bay is Nithe- 
rohi, which means concealed water, and is beautifully 
significant of its phenomena, as they unroll their 
wonders on the eye. And what a liquid name is that 
Nitherohi ! it fairly melts on the tongue. It is In- 
dian in its origin, and should never have been dropped 
for any saint in the calendar. But in Catholic coun- 
tries, Eden itself would soon cease to go by its proper 
name. 

I do not wonder the Brazilians are deficient in en- 
terprise and energy. No physical force can with- 
stand the enervating influences of this climate, and 



118 DECK AND PORT. 



that listlessness which it induces. Not one exhila- 
rating pulse heaves the heart. You feel as one 
walking in a half-exhausted receiver. The heat at 
this season is intense ; the atmosphere often humid, 
and your whole frame yields to lassitude. How can 
a man attempt any thing great, when the least exer- 
tion throws him into perspiration, and even to dream 
seems an effort ! It is as much as I can do to muster 
up resolution enough to pen this feeble page ; and as 
for the reader he will probably fall asleep over it. 

Saturday, Jan. 10. We had to-day a forcible 
specimen of Rio showers. We were in Rua d'Ouvi- 
dor, which is lined with the most fashionable shops in 
the city, when a black cloud, sailing down from the 
Corcovada peak, rolled out the lake, which lay in its 
bosom. The street was immediately filled with a 
flood of sufficient depth to float a family canoe. The 
inclined plane of the street carried it off in a rapid 
torrent. The sun again struck the pavement, and 
we were at liberty to renew our walk. Were such 
a flood to rush down Broadway, our New Yorkers 
would think their Croton reservoir had burst its last 
boundary. But here it creates as little commotion 
as the breaking of a bubble on the public fountain. 

The fruits of Rio are delicious ; richer oranges and 
bananas the houri never shook from the blooming 
boughs of Mahomet's horticultural heaven. But the 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 119 



milk here, or the liquid sold under that name, has 
less of the lacteal element in it than water filtered 
through the " milky-way." For this attenuated dilu- 
tion our steward pays twenty cents the quart. Ru- 
mor says it is procured from the maternal functions 
of a tribe of slaves, who are wonderfully endowed in 
this particular, and who act as a class of wet-nurses 
to the community. Be the rumor true or not, it was 
very difficult to use it after this idea had once enter- 
ed the imagination. It was hurrying one rather too 
fast into his second childhood. Would it bring back 
our first infancy, with its innocent glee, it would do. 
But life's current has no refluent tide. 

Sunday, Jan. 11. Mr. Wise and family, with sev- 
eral other ladies and gentlemen from the shore, at- 
tended divine service on board. We assembled on 
the spar-deck under an awning that protected every 
one from the sun's rays. The leading points in the 
discourse turned on the value of the soul, as asserted 
in the nature of its powers and capacities, and in the 
humiliation and sufferings of the Son of God in its 
behalf. At the close of the service we all joined in 
singing the missionary hymn ; the sacred music 
swelling up full and clear from so many deep-toned 
voices, floated far and wide over the still w r aters of 
the bay. 

The Protestants in Rio have but one place of wor- 



120 DECK AND PORT. 



ship — the English chapel. They have been very- 
unfortunate in the appointment of their chaplains. 
These appointments, and those of a diplomatic and 
political character, emanate substantially from the 
same source. Warm, devoted piety, in its unobtru- 
sive meekness, seems to be overlooked in the glare 
of other qualities, or the erring partialities of private 
friendship. The last chaplain who served here for a 
time and left, went into one of the West India islands 
and set up a gaming-table. The English chaplain at 
Trieste, as I had occasion to observe, was one of the 
most accomplished waltzers in the place. Such men 
have their place, perhaps, in this varied world, but it 
is not in the missionary field. He will bring very 
few sheaves home with him who has converted his 
sickle into a fiddle-bow ; and he will find even these 
few made up mostly of those tares which the devil 
sowed while he frolicked or slept. 

Monday, Jan. 12. A Brazilian gentleman of some 
note sent his card over the side of our ship this 
morning, and was invited on board by Capt. Du Pont, 
who received him and his lady at the gangway. He 
was tall, well-proportioned, and in his carriage com- 
bined dignity with ease. His dark locks rolled out 
from under his chapeau in rich profusion. His face 
had that calmness and strength in its features which 
express force of intellect and benignity of heart. His 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 121 



dress was rich, but not gaudy ; sable in hue, and well 
fitted to his stately person. He spoke in French, 
with a slight Brazilian accent. His questions were 
relevant and shrewd ; his admiration of our frigate 
undisguised. 

His lady was slightly below him in height, and 
more delicate in form. There was something pecu- 
liarly feminine in her air, and yet something which 
betrayed strength of character. Her small foot rose 
and lit on the deck with precision and airy lightness. 
Her countenance constantly changed in the tide of 
its expressions. The features were extremely regu- 
lar, but you forgot their well-defined lines in the har- 
mony of the whole. Her eyes were large, soft, and 
floating, and were shaded by long silken lashes, from 
which light and darkness seemed to fall. When 
some thought of deep animation struck her, the emo- 
tion flushed in her cheek like the blush of morn on a 
soft cloud. Her voice, though not deep, was musi- 
cal, and flowed like the low sweet warble of a bird. 
Such was she, and such the one in whom her affec- 
tions confided. They left the ship as they came, 
without ostentation. I have been told since that he 
is one of the first statesmen in Brazil. 



Tuesday, Jan. 13. Visited the shore for the 
last time, as we are to weigh anchor to-morrow 
morning. Walked through Rua d'Ouvedor, the 
11 



122 DECK AND PORT. 



Broadway of Rio, which displays in its fancy shops 
the fabrics and fashions of foreign capitals ; and 
where you can purchase every thing from a camel's 
hair shawl to a shoe-string, and from a Damascus 
blade to a toothpick. 

Crossed into the Rua d'Ourives, which flashes with 
all the jewels of Brazil. Their rays bewilder the 
eyes, and sometimes the wits. Doubloons, that are 
wanted for bread, are here parted with for a little 
pebble, that has nothing to recommend it but its 
light, and even that is a stolen ray. When Frank- 
lin's niece wrote to him at Paris to send her some 
ostrich feathers for her winter bonnet, the republi- 
can minister wrote her — " Catch the old rooster, my 
child, and pull the feathers out of his tail, they will 
do just as well." What is true of the rooster's 
feather, in comparison with the plume of the os- 
trich, is equally true of the common pebble by the 
side of the diamond. The brightest ray is that which 
flashes from intellect ; the warmest that which melts 
from the heart. 

Of the hotels in Rio the best is the Pharoux— an 
extensive establishment, under Parisian arrange- 
ments, and evincing a great want of cleanliness. If 
by good fortune your tester-bar keeps out the mus- 
queto, you fall into the hands of- a still worse enemy 
in the shape of the flea. Besides these annoyances, 
the night tubs, emptied on the beach of the bay, 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 123 



waft to your window odors which make you prefer 
heat to air. The goddess Cloacina ought to visit 
this place and order her altars under ground, where 
they belong, instead of having them transported on 
the heads of negroes, under the shadows of night, 
and sending up their exhalations, which are enough 
to make the man in the moon hold his nose. But 
let that pass. Flowers spring from corruption. 
Man pollutes, but nature purifies. 

A spirit of freedom is gradually working its way 
into the heart of the Brazilians. They have made a 
vast stride in constitutional liberty within the last 
twenty years. Their government has ceased to be 
a despotism. Its functions now embody the energies 
of the public will ; its measures look to the welfare 
of the great masses. The throne merely holds in 
check the leaders of factions, without wantonly im- 
pairing the freedom of the patriotic citizen. Should 
the period arrive, when monarchical forms can safely 
be dispensed with, and the public will tranquilly 
work itself out in the shape of law, Brazil will take 
her station among free republics. 

As the old cathedral clock struck eleven, and the 
lights in the balconies grew dim, the barge of our 
commodore, in which we had been invited to take a 
seat, parted from the strand of Rio. Again on deck, 
a farewell look was thrown to its hills, sleeping in 
the soft moonlight. On those hills a Byron, a Cook, 



124 



DECK AND PORT. 



a Magellan have gazed. The morn still breaks over 
them, but they know it not. The world may still 
retain a faint echo of their fame, but where are they? 
and where, in a few years, shall we be ? where are 
the millions, whose voices rang through the past ? 
Death has hushed their exulting tunes, and their 
monuments have crumbled under the footstep of 
time. And we are passing to the same silent shore. 
As the furrows of our keel pass from the face of the 
deep, so will the strife, the sorrows, and the triumphs 
of our being, glide from the memory of man. 

" What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue 1" 




125 



CHAPTER IV. 

PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 

GETTING UNDER WAY. — THE LETTER-BAG. RUNAWAY SAILOR. — ISLE OF ST. 

CATHERINE. PAMFEROES. — THE SHOTTED GUN. LOSS OF OUR COON. 

THE SAILOR AND SHARK. GENERAL QUARTERS AT NIGHT. FIREWORKS 

IN THE SEA. THE PHANTOM SHIP. PATAGONIANS. THE FALKLAND ISL- 
ANDS. THE CAPTURED ALBATROS. TERRIFIC GALE. CONDITION OF OUR 

FRIGATE. THE SAILOR'S BURIAL. THE CAPE OF STORMS. 

All hands unmoor— the captain's brief command ; 

The cable round the flying capstan rings, 
The anchor quits its bed, the sails expand, 

The gallant ship before the quick breeze springs. 

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 1846. This morning as the 
first rays of the sun lit the Corcovada peak, we trip- 
ped our anchors, and, under a light land breeze, stood 
down the bay of Rio. It being understood that we 
were to take our departure at this hour, the officers and. 
crews of the national ships, which lay moored around 
us, were on deck to see us get under way. This being 
the first time we had gone through with these evolu- 
tions on the cruise, a slight solicitude was felt, lest 
some awkwardness in executing the orders, some 
want of perfect harmony and dispatch, should be 
evinced. The liability to those errors which we 
wished to avoid, was perhaps only enhanced by the 
presence of so many professional eyes. But the 
11* 



126 DECK AND PORT. 



successive orders were executed with admirable 
promptitude and accuracy. We left our berth with 
the grace of the swan gliding from the place of her 
cradled sleep. 

We left at anchor the U. S. frigate Columbia, bear- 
ing the broad pennant of Commodore Rousseau, bound 
to La Plata ; the U. S. sloop-of-war Plymouth, bound 
to the same place ; and the U. S. frigate Raritan, 
bound to the Mexican gulf. To each and all we 
waved our adieu, and filled away for Cape Horn. 
What a contrast between what lay around us, and 
what lay before us ! We were exchanging a quiet 
harbor for a tumbling ocean, — zephyrs too soft to 
ruffle the cheek of beauty, for storms which the 
sturdy ship can hardly withstand, — a clime of per- 
petual sunshine and flowers for one of eternal ice. 

Thursday, Jan. 15. We were to-day at 12 o'clock 
two hundred and sixty miles from our anchorage at 
Rio, a very good commencement of our run south. 
We have been looking out all day for some vessel to 
heave in sight, that we might throw on board her 
our last letter-bag, which, by a singular inadvertence, 
had been brought off* to sea with us. It had been 
made up during our last night at Rio, and contained 
our last words of affection and remembrance ; and 
here it was going with us towards Cape Horn, in- 
stead of our homes. This was vexatious, and le- 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 127 

quired that philosophy which the heart is slow to 
learn. They who can write their friends every 
twenty-four hours, will let months perhaps roll away 
without penning them a sentence. But take away 
this facility, spread an ocean between them and their 
kindred, and they will look for a vessel bound home 
as eagerly as a condemned culprit looks for a re- 
prieve or pardon. 

Friday, Jan. 16. Our wind still continues direct- 
ly aft ; we have all studding-sails out below and 
aloft. The weather is extremely warm ; the ther- 
mometer ranging at 87. The night is quite as op- 
pressive as the day, and perhaps more so, as we are 
then in our state-rooms. The wind-sail is a great 
comfort ; without it the berth-deck would be almost 
intolerable. But we are like frogs jumping out of 
the sun into the frost, and then out of the frost into 
the sun. 

Our sailors while at Rio behaved extremely well. 
They were constantly passing between the ship and 
the shore, and frequently without an officer in charge 
of the boat, and yet but one or two instances of in- 
toxication occurred ; only one deserted, and he was 
so worthless a creature that no efforts were made to 
recover him. We all felt quite relieved when it was 
known that he had run ; our only fear was, that he 
would relent and come back. Captain Du Pont 



128 DECK AND PORT. 

might have said to him with some propriety, " I shall 
punish you, not for running away, for that was re- 
lieving us of a bad man, but for coming back." Our 
Rio runaway did not, however, return ; if this was 
the result of an unwillingness to ask further our cha- 
rity and forbearance, he is certainly entitled to some 
praise. 

Saturday, Jan. 17. The weather still continues 
close and sultry. The sky is filled with a dull haze, 
the sea is smooth, the breeze very light and directly 
aft, where it has been for the last eight-and-forty 
hours, and' yet we have sailed between 12 o'clock 
yesterday and the same hour to-day 105 miles. Four 
knots the hour is slow sailing by the clock, but in 
the aggregate for the day extends over a wide space 
of water. You would think so, were you doomed to 
swim it, though you might have three months to do 
it in. No man should complain of a horse or a ship 
that carries him faster than he can carry himself. 

Besides, why should we be in haste to reach our 
port ? We are out here on a great ocean, exempt 
from all the troubles and perplexities of the shore. 
Realms may be revolutionized, capitals shaken, dy- 
nasties overthrown, and we feel and know it not. 
We are as secure as Mahomet's coffin, swinging high 
and serene above the careering sirocco. If the world 
wearies you, if its frivolities sicken or its crimes 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 129 

overwhelm you, proceed to sea, get out on the broad 
ocean, and hold communion with the stars and the 
free billows. Here you are not a slave to custom, 
you are not trammelled by party, you have not to 
coin your cheek to smiles. The ocean exacts no 
such homage ; but impresses on her children a por- 
tion of her own grandeur and strength. 

Sunday, Jan. 18. We have had divine service 
on a very unquiet deck. The fall of the barometer 
through the first watch, last night, indicated a change 
in the weather. It came, during the mid-watch, in 
the shape of a strong blow from the southeast. This 
is the first pampero that we have encountered, and if 
the rest are like this, the fewer we have of them the 
better. They knock you off your course, raise a 
tumbling sea, and then leave you like a culprit escap- 
ing from the scene of his outrage. 

We have passed the Brazilian island of St. Catha- 
rine, unable to gratify our curiosity by any stay 
there. This small island has many attractions ; its 
fruits are unrivalled; its scenery is wild and pic- 
turesque ; its inhabitants are mild and amiable. The 
climate, though warm, is so modified by a sea-breeze 
that the heat is never oppressive. The birds of this 
island are remarkable for the sweetness and brilliancy 
of their music. The fertility of the soil is seen in 
the rich verdure which waves in a mass of living 



130 DECK AND PORT. 



green over its steeps and glens. Could Eden have 
taken its departure from the east in the shape of an 
island, I should think it had anchored itself here un- 
der the name of St. Catharine. 

" How sweetly does the moonbeam smile 
To-night upon yon leafy isle ! 
Oft, in my fancy's wanderings, 
I've wished that little isle had wings, 
And we, within its fairy bowers, 

Were wafted off to seas unknown, 
"Where not a pulse should beat but ours, 

And we might live, love, die alone — : 
Far from the cruel and the cold — 

Where the bright eyes of angels only 
Should come around us, to behold 

A paradise so pure and lonely." 

Monday, Jan. 19th. The wind is still out of the 
south and in our teeth. It has taken up its stand 
there like the indignant angel heading off Balaam's 
ass. This reminds me r A an anecdote not more out 
of place here than the graceless animal that intro- 
duces it. A man who stammered to such a degree 
that he was under the necessity, when journeying, to 
have an interpreter with him, encountered on the 
road a clergyman, mounted on rather a son y-looking 
horse. Before the parties met, the stammerer told 
his interpreter that he was going to pro-pro-pose to 
the par-par-parson a certain question, and then ex- 
plained, in his broken dialect, what the question was. 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 131 

As the clergyman came up, the stammerer saluted him 
with " Good morning, Mr. par-par-parson : can you 
tell me wha-wha-wha" — Here the interpreter came in 
to his relief, and, with a satirical leer in his look, 
told the parson that his companion wished to ask 
him — what made Balaam's ass speak. The clergy- 
man instantly replied, " Why, Balaam was a stam- 
merer, and his ass spake for him." This is not the 
only instance in which a wicked wag, attempting an 
impudent witticism upon a simple-hearted man, has 
fallen into his own snare. Wisdom is justified of her 
children. 

But I forget the ship and our destination. The 
last we might well forget till the wind hauls. Noth- 
ing conduces more to resignation than losing sight 
of your objects. We are always in the greatest fever 
nearest our goal. Youth may indeed pursue interests 
which can be reached only in age ; but enthusiasm 
and anticipation overleap this gulf of years, leaving 
action and reality to come along afterwards. Love 
lights its lamp long before it reaches its shrine ; so 
long, indeed, that it often goes out on the road ; and 
when once quenched, there is no Promethean spark 
*that can rekindle it. But what have lamps and love, 
or ladies either, to do with our getting to Cape Horn ? 

Tuesday, Jan. 20. The wind has hauled to the 
west at last, and we are now laying our course. But 



132 DECK AND PORT. 



such a change in the temperature ! our thermometer 
fell fifteen degrees in almost as many minutes, and 
remains there like a broken-down politician. A day 
or two since, and we were panting w T ith heat even in 
our thinnest dress ; now we are in winter apparel, 
and cold at that. Our crew are barking all over the 
ship. It is a little singular that the two animals 
which withstand these changes of climate the best, 
are man and the hog. I always had some regard for 
this last animal till he was introduced into Congress 
to help out a metaphor of party animosity ; since that, 
I have seen him roasted without compunction. Every 
thing is known by the uses to which it is put. 

We have had for some time past a shot in one of 
our spar-deck guns, which we found it impossible at 
Rio to dislodge, to make room for firing a salute. 
Every other expedient having failed, it was decided 
to-day to fire it off. The danger lay in the gun's 
bursting. It was trained to one of the forward ports, 
the crew ordered below, and a slow match applied to 
it. It went off, and the ball with it, into the infinity 
of space, harming nothing save the air through which 
it passed, and which closed up again as suddenly as 
Europe restored itself to its old landmarks after the* 
battle of Waterloo. This was a tragedy running 
foul of a counterplot in the very last scene. It was 
a triumphant wave just sweeping the shore, and then 
suddenly thrown back by a rock to whence it came. 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 133 

" Thanks for that lesson : it will teach 
To after warriors more 
Than high philosophy can preach, 
And vainly preached before." 

Wednesday, Jan. 21st. We met this morning 
with an irreparable loss in the death of our coon. 
He took passage on board our frigate at Norfolk. 
The great presidential election having just closed, 
and there being no further occasion for his distin- 
guished services, till another campaign should open, 
he determined to spend a portion of the intervening 
time in studying the habits and customs of coons in 
other lands. 

He had been extremely occupied at Rio with the 
objects of his mission, and probably neglected those 
precautions observed by coons in a torrid zone. He 
was seized with a malady beyond the sagacity of the 
profession, and which suddenly unrove his life line. 
This evening he was silently consigned to the deep, 
by the boatswain's mate, who committed a great 
breach of propriety in not piping him over. But he 
probably thought that one who had been so honored 
in his life could dispense with ceremony at his death. 
My Ariel, however, who loved the coon, and will 
long lament his loss, has penned the following : 

12 



134 DECK AND PORT. 



ELEGY ON THE COON. 

Thou meek and melancholy moon I 

Smile sweetly on yon curling wave, 
For 'neath its foam our gentle coon 
Is in his grave. 

No more he'll leave his woodland hole 

To frolic with the fox, 
Or meet the Whiggies, cheek by jowl, 
At ballot-box : 

No more will stir the Locos' bile 

By his provoking pranks — 
To think that he, who lead their file, 
Should quit their ranks. 

In grand processions he stood out, 
High o'er the gaping crowd, 
As if to him arose that shout, 

Full thunder loud. 

He knew to chasten his desires, 

To curb all selfish wishes, 
And left to those who worked the wires 
The loaves and fishes. 

The flowing waves will softly wreath 

A chaplet on his breast, 
The sighing winds a requiem breathe 
Above his rest. 

We are to-day nearly past the broad mouth of the 
Plata. The wind for the last twenty-four hours has 
been extremely light, but we have made about a 
hundred miles on our course. At this rate we shall 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 135 

soon be beyond the reach of the pampero. This 
wind gives no admonition ; it springs upon you like 
a serpent from the brake, striking with its fang before 
it springs its rattle. This is foul play, but we must 
put up with it, or make ourstlves ridiculous over a 
wayward element. 

Thursday, Jan. 22d. We caught our first shark 
this morning. The rogue had been following in the 
wake of our ship for some hours. The sailors baited 
a large hook with a piece of pork, and let it trail by 
a long line from the stern. The shark nabbed it, and 
finding himself caught, attempted to break the line 
by his vigorous plunge, but it was too strong for 
him. He was soon brought on deck, cut up, and on 
the fire broiling for dinner. The sailors ate him with 
that savage glee which often attends an act of retrib- 
utive justice. But for eating him, they felt quite 
sure he would in the end eat some of them. The 
way to finish an adversary is to eat him up. He 
will then give you no further trouble save in the di- 
gestion. Anthropophagy is greatly abused. It is 
much more innocent to devour a man's body than 
his character ; yet the latter is done every day ; 
while even a vague rumor of the former will fill a 
whole community with consternation. But what 
has this to do with getting to Cape Horn ? 



136 DECK AND PORT. 



Friday, Jan. 23d. Fresh meat at this rate will 
soon cease to be a dainty with us. One of our crew 
harpooned a huge porpoise this morning. He shared 
the fate of the shark, on coals and the gridiron. He 
makes very good eating; rather dry, as the Irish- 
man said — picking the bones of an owl, which he 
had shot for a grouse. 

We went to general quarters this afternoon ; all 
fire and lights having been first extinguished. The 
crew went through with the evolutions of an engage- 
ment with an enthusiasm that would not dishonor 
the reality. On these exercises depends in a great 
measure the efficiency of a ship when the crisis 
comes. But there is one feature of the arrangement 
not quite to my liking. I am stationed at the cap- 
stan to take notes of the action ; very cool business 
when balls are flying around you like hail ! If there 
is any fighting to be done I wish to do my part of it, 
but not with a goose-quill. That weapon does very 
well when there are no cutlasses, powder, and shot 
about, but it is not quite the thing with which to 
protect your own deck or board the enemy. It is 
said the chaplain of the Chesapeake, who wielded a 
cutlass instead of a goose-quill, gave the commander 
of the Shannon, as he attempted to board, the wound 
of which he ultimately died : so much 

For one whose courage cut him loose 
From weapons furnished by a goose. 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 137 

Saturday, Jan. 24. We were to-day at 12 o'clock 
full half way from Rio to Cape Horn. The wind is 
on our starboard quarter, the sea smooth, and we 
are slipping along six and seven knots the hour. 
The atmosphere has that smoky appearance which 
is characteristic of our clime when the autumn has 
set in. An albatros has been circling around our 
ship to-day. He is a large white bird approaching 
the swan in size, but with shorter neck and longer 
wings. » 

Last night, on the eve of the mid- watch, the drum 
rolled all hands out of their hammocks. We sprung 
to the deck, and went to general quarters. The 
guns were cast loose, and we went through with the 
evolutions of a night engagement. Hardly a loud 
word was heard, though the manoeuvring of our ship, 
and the management of her batteries, would have 
signalized us in the battle of the Nile. If we are to 
have a fight, we shall know how to go at it, whether 
it come at noon or midnight. What would have sur- 
prised a stranger most, was the quickness with which 
every one appeared on deck, when the call was beat. 
From the first tap of the drum not more than three 
minutes elapsed before the last hammock was stowed, 
and its roused occupant was ready for action. The 
marine officer, who occupies the state-room adjoining 
mine, must have jumped into his clothes without the 
time to draw them on : 

12* 



138 DECK AND PORT. 



Ere you could open well your eye, 
He stood in arms prepared to die. 

Sunday, Jan. 25. We have had no service to- 
day, in consequence of a cold which I had taken, and 
which rendered speaking extremely difficult. Our 
wind still holds, without having veered scarcely a 
point, and is now carrying us onward ten knots the 
hour. 

We had last night a splendid exhibition of aquatic 
fireworks. The night was perfectly dark, and the 
sea smooth; and you might see a thousand living 
rockets shooting off in all directions from our ship, 
and, running through countless configurations, return 
to her, leaving their track still bright with inextin- 
guishable flame. Then they would start again, 
whirling through every possible gyration, till the 
whole ocean around seemed medallioned with fire. 
The fact was, we had run into an immense shoal of 
porpoises and small fish. The sea being filled at 
the same time with animalculae, which emit a bright 
phosphoric light when the water is agitated, the 
chase of the porpoises after these small fish created 
the beautiful phenomena described. The light was 
so strong that you could see the fish with the utmost 
distinctness. They lit their own path, like a sky- 
rocket in a dark night. Our ship left the track of 
its keel in flame for half a mile. I have witnessed 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 139 

the illumination of St. Peter's and the castle of Mi- 
chael Anselo at Rome, and heard the shout of the 
vast multitudes as the splendors broke over the dark 
cope of night; but no pyrotechnic displays ever 
got up by human skill, could rival the exhibitions 
of nature around our ship. Give me a phosphoric 
sea and a shoal of porpoises for fireworks : out on 
man and his vanity ; he is outdone, even with the 
thunders of the Vatican at his command, by the 
ocean hog ! 

Monday, Jan. 26. We have been engaged to-day 
in stumping our top-gallant-masts, and striking below 
some six of our spar-deck guns. The gales often en- 
countered off Cape Horn render these precautions 
expedient on board a man-of-war. She is not like a 
merchantman, with the great bulk and weight of her 
cargo down in the hold; her heavy batteries, the 
strong decks which support them, her lofty masts, 
solid spars, and immense field of canvas, are all 
above water-mark. She feels, therefore, more than 
her mercantile sister, the strength of the wind, and 
rolls more fearfully to its force. 

It is seldom indeed that a man-of-war is lost. But 
her safety lies in her precautions, — in the fact that, she 
has not the same motive' for carrying sail as a mer- 
chant-ship rushing to a market, — and in the great 
amount of living force which she can throw upon 



140 DECK AND PORT. 



her yards in any sudden emergency. Her crew is 
necessarily sufficient not only for managing her sails, 
but for working her batteries, and can at a moment 
be summoned to this duty or that, as the occasion 
requires. In this lies her safety in storms and her 
strength in battle. 

Tuesday, Jan. 27. We were at twelve o'clock 
to-day within six hundred miles of the Cape. We 
had a ten-knot breeze, and the prospect of a fine run, 
when a black thunder-storm careered into the sky 
directly ahead. We had only time to shorten sail 
before it was upon us. It swept past, throwing back 
its forked lightning. I regretted its departure about 
as much as I should that of a savage disappearing in 
the thicket, and throwing behind the sheen of his 
tomahawk. 

But one evil the storm has wrought us : it has de- 
stroyed our good wind, and left us to look out for 
another, like a widow for a second husband. No 
lady should marry a second time. If her first hus- 
band was a good one, she should cherish hij; memory : 
if bad, he should serve as a beacon. Gentlemen may 
marry again ; for they were once allowed as many 
wives as they wished, and it would be a pity if under 
any circumstances they couldn't have one. But 
somehow the ladies outdo us entirely in these second 
marriages, and in most other things which require 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 141 

tact and management. But what has this to do with 
getting to Cape Horn ? 

A large number of black whales are plunging about 
our ship. They have a long heavy motion, and move 
over a swell like a lubberly Dutch merchantman. 
How the lazy rascals ever secure their food is unac- 
countable. I should suppose every thing would drift 
out of their way. They move in Indian file, and 
their uneven backs, rippling above the water, so 
closely resemble the bumps of the sea-serpent, that I 
began to suspect we had got into the neighborhood 
of Nahant, or that the commanders of her fishing- 
smacks had lost forever their great marine fiction : 

" Our army swore terribly in Flanders." 

Wednesday, Jan. 28. Our good wind, which the 
thunder-squall knocked down last evening, has not 
yet recovered itself. It occasionally sends out a 
breath, but it comes faintly, as from some dying 
thing. I fear we shall have to part with it. Let its 
grave be in the clouds, and let the softest sunlight 
rest upon it. May the thunder which has killed it 
be compelled to roll its funeral dirge. 

Our thermometer has stood to-day at 60. The 
sky at the zenith has been brilliant, but on the hori- 
zon full of mist. The refraction of the sun's rays in 
the latter, has the effect to lift the distant line of the 
sea into a circular wall. We seem to float in the 



142 DECK AND PORT. 



centre of a magnificent basin, the rim of which soars 
into the circumambient line of the sky. It is an 
amphitheatre of waters, and as daylight darkens over 
it, the stars hang in the blue dome their lamps of 
gushing light. No human architecture can rival its 
beauty and grandeur. The Coliseum, which ex- 
hausted the genius and wealth of Rome, dwindles 
into a cock-pit at its side. Nations might be seated 
here as spectators, and the navies of the world float 
in the arena. How nature pours contempt on the 
vanity of man wherever she encounters it ! From 
the fathomless depths of the rolling ocean to the 
dew-drop that trembles on the thorn, she sends out 
her challenge, and covers the presumptuous competi- 
tor with humiliation. She is the mirror of her Ma- 
ker, and images forth his power ; and chiefly thou, 
great ocean, ever rolling, ever free and full of strength! 

u Time writes no wrinkles on thine azure brow ; 
Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now." 

Thursday, Jan. 29. We discovered this morning, 
on our weather bow, a small white cloud, skimming 
along the undulating line of the horizon. Its shape, 
its whiteness, in contrast with the dark background 
of the sky, and its horizontal movement, all gave its 
appearance a singularity that arrested our attention. 
When first seen, it was going east, but it soon tacked, 
and stood west. It was distinctly visible, as it rose 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 143 

on the crest of a long sweeping wave, and then 
seemed lost behind its tumbling foam — 

" A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist ! 
And still it near'd and near'd : 
As if it dodged a water sprite, 
It plunged and tack'd and veer'd." 

But it proved to be no water sprite — no phantom- 
ship, but a good and substantial whaler, of New Bed- 
ford, bound home after a successful cruise. Right 
glad were we to fall in with her on this frozen realm 
of waters. We saluted her with " Hail Columbia !" 
She sent a boat alongside, and her mate came on 
board. She had just doubled Cape Horn, where she 
fell in with several vessels waiting for a change of 
the wind. 'She had been out eighteen months, and 
was in good condition. In half an hour our letter- 
bag was ready, the mate took it on board, and she 
filled away. She is again but a speck on the slope 
of the ocean, and is now beneath its blue verge. 

Friday, Jan. 29. Our wind, which the thunder- 
storm had crushed, has at last sprung up again with 
renewed rigor, like truth overpowered for a time by 
falsehood. As if to make up for its temporary over- 
throw, it is now overdoing the business. We have 
been obliged to take in our topgallant-sails, and fetch 
a reef in our topsails. We are now between the 



144 DECK AND PORT. 



Falkland islands and the Patagonian coast, some 
three hundred miles from the Cape. We are head- 
ing, close-hauled, for the Strait Le Mair. The sea 
is pretty rough, but we are tumbling over it at the 
rate of nine knots the hour. The air is cold and 
searching, sleet and hail are on our deck. What a 
transition from the melting rays of Rio ! A leap 
from a lightning cloud into an iceberg ! 

The wind has hauled, and we are now heading in 
for the Patagonians. We shall find them, says 
one of our mess, who has been among them, not a 
diminutive race, as is generally represented, but tall, 
well formed, and possessing great muscular power. 
They live in huts, which resemble gipsy tents, are 
clad in skins, and subsist on seals, guanacoes, and 
birds. The women dress like the men, plait their 
long hair, but wear no ornament in the ear or nose. 
They have all a bronze complexion, smooth skin,* and 
one accredited evidence of nobility, small hands and 
feet. The men are fond of the chase, and are dex- 
terous in the use of the lance and bow. The women 
are attached to their children, but are kept in vassal- 
age to the other sex. Their religion is that of na- 
ture, and its spirit partakes of the wild and dreary 
elements which prevail around them. Let those 
who prefer the savage state embark for Patagonia, 

And rid themselves of ills and ails 
With every meal they make on snails. 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 145 

Saturday, Jan. 3i. We gave up the Patago- 
nians as soon as the wind permitted, and are steering 
again for the Strait Le Mair. The wind is fitful 
and uncertain, and the air cold enough to make you 
snap your fingers ; but the sky, which through the 
morning was overhung with clouds, now throws its 
blue and brilliant lake on the eye. 

The Falkland Islands lie on our larboard quarter, 
and serve as huge ice-breakers to the coast. Noth- 
ing can be imagined more terrible and sublime than 
the rush of a steep iceberg against these towering 
masses of rock. The tumult and roar of an Auster- 
litz or Marengo might pass unheeded. So much 
does nature outdo man, even when he rouses in flames 
and blood. 

The Falkland Islands serve one important purpose 
in the economy of the nautical world. They are a 
resting-place between two great confluent oceans. 
Here ships in want of water can find it bubbling up 
as freshly as if it had never felt the chain of winter. 
Wild cattle are leaping among its rocks free and un- 
fettered as goats among Alpine crags. Wild geese 
and ducks swarm in the bays ; snipe are so tame, 
you can knock them over with your gun if you have 
not skill to shoot them, a circumstance that would 
suit me. The eggs of the penguin, albatros, and gull, 
as they return from the sea to rear a new generation, 
cover acres, as thick as hailstones ; while the tea- 

13 



146 DECK AND PORT. 



plant, unlike its delicate Chinese sister, blooms out 
amid eternal frost. 

Sunday, Feb. 1. Lat. 53° 56' s., long. 64° 49' w. 
We are now within forty miles of Staten Land, that 
huge barrier-rock of the American continent, around 
which raves the Antarctic sea. It is the very throne 
of Eolus, the centre of storms which never slumber. 
One of them struck us a few hours since, and carried 
away our fore-topsail. It was an old sail, and we 
bent another in its place, which will prove true to 
its trust. We have sent down our top-gallant yards, 
and set our try-sails. Sleet and hail are falling, and 
the night has closed over us in starless gloom. 

Against the night-storm, you who dwell on the 
land can close your shutters, and retire in safety to 
repose. That storm summons the sailor from his 
hammock to the yards. There, on that giddy eleva- 
tion, with his masts sweeping from sea to sea, the tem- 
pest roaring through his shrouds, the thunder burst- 
ing overhead, the waves howling beneath, and the 
quick lightning scorching the eyeballs that meet its 
glare, the poor sailor attempts to reef sail. One false 
balance, one parting of that life-line, and he is pre- 
cipitated into the rushing sea. A shriek is heard; 
but who in such a night of tumult and terror can 
save ? A bubbling groan ascends : the billows close 
over their victim, and he sinks to his deep watery 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 14? 

bier. His poor mother will long wait and watch for 
the return of her orphan boy ; and his infant sister, 
unacquainted with death, will still speak his name in 
gladness. But they will see his face no more ! He 
has gone to that dim bourne — 

From which nor wave, nor sail, nor mariner 
Have e'er returned, nor one fond, farewell word 
Traversed the waters back. 

Monday, Feb. 2. As we were close-hauled, with 
Staten Land on our lee-bow, we carried during the 
night only sail enough to steady the ship. But as 
day began to glimmer, we shook a reef or two out of 
our topsails, and set our courses. The sun came up 
with a cold beam out of an horizon of heavy haze. 
Light clouds, in the southwest, began to shoot up into 
the zenith, and were followed by a fierce blow, accom- 
panied with dashes of sleet and hail. Our courses 
were hauled up, and we were soon under close-reefed 
topsails, main spencer, and fore-staysail. 

2 o'clock, p. m. The indications of a still severer 
blew are gathering around us. The scud drives over 
the sky with lightning speed, throwing out here and 
there its wild black flukes. The sea is running 
high, and our ship is plunging into it like a mad le- 
viathan. We have bent our storm-sails for the worst 
that may come. Among small matters, my books, 
n a heavy roll of the ship, have just fetched away, 



148 DECK AND PORT. 



and lie in every possible position in my state-room. 
I have more literature under my feet than I shall 
ever have in my head. 

7 o'clock, p. m. The sun has just burst through 
the heavy clouds that hang on the horizon, and 
thrown into light a bark on our weather-quarter. 
She is visible only as she comes over the combing 
summit of a mountain wave, and is then lost in the 
hollow of the sea. So long indeed she disappears, you 
half believe she is gone forever, when up she comes, 
hanging upon the plunging verge of another wave. 
The sun has set, and night is on the deep. 

Tuesday, Feb. 3. Lat. by alt. near noon, 55° 17' 
s. Long, by dead reckoning, 61° 32' w. Distance 
from Staten Land, 85 miles, bearing n. w. by w. \ w. 
(true) heading w. by s., and making no better than 
w. n. w., allowing two points variation, and one for 
the heave of the sea. Such is our position, such our 
prospect for doubling Cape Horn: a head wind, a 
high sea, and dashes of rain and hail. Still we take 
matters very quietly. Our dead-lights are in, our 
hatches hooded, and our ship under close-reefed top- 
sails. When the wind has blown its blow out, where 
it now is, we expect it will change its quarters like a 
spendthrift without cash or credit left. 

We looked out this morning for the little bark 
thrown into vision last evening by a gush of sunset 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 149 

light. But she is now nowhere to be seen. She re- 
lieved for the moment our sense of utter dreariness, 
and will again if she comes within the dark line of 
our vision. It is not good for man to be alone ; 
and this is as true of a ship at sea as of Adam in Eden. 
There is only one exhibition of social solitude so 
dreary as that of a single ship at sea, and that is the 
condition of an old bachelor. 

A large number of the albatros and stormy petrel 
have been following us for hours to pick up the 
crumbs which the cooks of the different messes throw 
over. The albatros gets all the larger bits ; the little 
petrel darts about under its overshadowing wings, 
and looks up for permission like an infant to its mo- 
ther's eyes. The night has closed over us ; not a 
star looks out through the thick mass of clouds above, 
and only the combing billow flashes through the 
darkness beneath. 

Night, and storm, and darkness, and the ocean, 
Heaving 'gainst their strength its sullen motion. 

Wednesday, Feb. 4. Our gale which had held 
out three days broke down last night in the mid- 
watch, but the fragments of its strength have had 
sufficient calcitrating force to prevent our making 
any perceptible progress to-day. We are this even- 
ing within a few miles of where we were at the last 
sunset, and the wind, which comes in occasional puffs, 
is still in our teeth. This is doubling Cape Horn. 
13* 



150 DECK AND PORT. 



There is no mistake about this cape. It has 
shoved itself out here for no idle or mistaken pur- 
pose. It always has, and always will, exact homage 
from seamen. It may now and then, from some 
whim, allow a ship to pass without these tokens of 
fealty, just as the pope may permit a subject to come 
into his presence without kissing his great toe. But 
then it may put the very next ship into a quarantine 
from which she would be glad to escape into a Span- 
ish lazaretto. 

Our little bark is again in sight, hovering like an 
unquiet cloud on the horizon. She bears up with 
right good heart against the winds. Steady, my 
little ocean friend ! Keep up thy indomitable cour- 
age ; thou shalt yet weather this cape of ice and 
thunder. To-day we harpooned a cape porpoise. 
It differs widely from those found in other zones ; is 
more lithe and slender ; seems formed for speed, and 
has beautiful black and white stripes running from 
head to tail ; the flesh is less dry, and the liver might 
almost tempt a pisciverous epicure. 

Thursday, Feb. 5. At 4 o'clock p. m., lat. 56° 27' 
s., long. 61° 57 w. In the last fifty-two hours we have 
made but a little more than one degree of latitude, 
and less than half a degree of longitude. It will take 
us a long time at this rate to get around Cape 
Horn. 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAFE HORN. 151 

The wind during the morning came in cold gusty 
puffs from the south. At noon the whole southern 
horizon seemed tumbling up in black jagged masses 
into the sky. This was a signal for reefing, which 
none could mistake. But the men had hardly got 
into the tops before the storm was upon us. It 
came charged with hail and sleet, and lasted some 
three hours. The masses of cloud then broke asun- 
der, and through their rift the sun-light streamed like 
a torrent from a forest-covered steep. 

Two enormous whales have been plunging about 
us to-day. Their huge backs as they crossed the 
hollow of the sea might l^ave been mistaken for a 
reef of rocks. They blow like a locomotive puffing 
off steam. Every puff sends up a shower of spray 
which may be seen at a great distance, and which 
guides the Nantucketite with his glittering harpoon. 
But who would trust his vessel in such a sea as this 
with a dead whale at her side ? I should as soon 
think of lashing to an iceberg. 

8 o'clock, p. m. The cold sun has just set; and our 
barometer has fallen to. 29.44 — lower than it has 
been since we left Norfolk. It has never yet de- 
ceived us, and if true now, we shall have a stormy 
night. But let it come — 

The earth will on its glowing axle roll 

Though billows howl and tempests shake the polo. 



152 DECK AND PORT. 



Friday, Feb. 6. Our barometer vaticinated cor- 
rectly last evening. The storm which it predicted 
came punctually as an executioner to his condemned 
culprit. It lasted through the greater part of the 
night, and left us with a heavy head-sea. Going on 
deck this morning I found it extremely difficult to 
preserve my balance, and brought up in the scuppers, 
though I have been on sea-legs between fifteen and 
twenty years. 

A long line was floated astern this morning, with 
hook and bait, for an albatros. Several of these 
noble birds were sailing in our wake. One of them 
took the hook, and as he was drawn slowly towards 
the ship his female companion followed close at his 
side. When lifted in she looked up with an expression 
of anxiety and bereavement that would not dishonor 
the wife of his captor in a reverse of circumstances. 
We found in his shape some resemblance to the wild- 
goose, but much larger in head and body, and with a 
longer wing. The hook had not injured him, and 
though his wings, which measured twelve feet be- 
tween their tips, were pinioned, he walked the deck 
with a proud defiant air. His large eye flashed with 
indignation and menace. His beak was armed with 
a strong hook like that of the falcon, his plumage 
was white as the driven snow, and the down on his 
neck soft as moonlight melting over the verge of an 
evening cloud. 




PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 153 

He was captured by- 
one of our passengers, 
who now proposed to 
kill him for the sake 
of his wings. But the 
sailors, who always 
associate something 
sacred with this bird, 
interfered. They predicted nothing but head winds, 
storms, and misfortunes if he should be killed ; and 
unlocking his wings, gave him a toss over the ship's 
side into his own wild element. His consort, who 
had followed the ship closely during his captivity, re- 
ceived him with outstretched wings. She sailed 
around him as he lighted, and in her caressing joy, 
threw her soft neck now over this wing and now 
over that. In a few moments they were cradled 
side by side, and he was telling her, I doubt not, of 
the savage beings he had been among, and of his 
narrow escape. 

Live on ye bright-eyed pair ; the deep 
Is yours, each crested wave shall keep 
Its vigils o'er your cradled sleep. 

Saturday, Feb. 7. We have made but very little 
progress during the last two days. A slant of wind 
has occasionally favored us, but with the counter- 
current, it has been about as much as we could do 



154 DECK AND PORT. 



to hold our own. What we gain when the wind 
hauls we are sure to lose when it returns to its old 
position. It is in our teeth, and has been there, with 
brief variations, for the last six days. Unless it 
changes we may box about her till doomsday. 

Out on Cape Horn ! Had it shoved itself between 
Pandemonium and Paradise, Milton would never have 
expected Lucifer to weather it.* He would have sent 
him across the Isthmus of Panama. There ought to 
be a ship-canal there ; not for demons, but for men. 
If Cheops could build himself a tomb which the rays 
of the new-risen sun should greet before they touched 
the lyre of Memnon ; if Brunell could arch a path- 
way under the Thames for the multitudes of London, 
with navies on its bosom ; and if Whitney can run 
a railroad from the Atlantic board to Oregon through 
the Rocky Mountains, surely the civilized powers of 
Europe, and those of America combined, can cut a 
canal across the Isthmus of Panama. I only wish all 
who oppose the project were obliged to double Cape 
Horn ; they would give in before they got round, if 
not, a jackass might take lessons from their obsti- 
nacy. 

I have swept, with the telescope, the whole hori- 
zon to find our little attendant bark, but not a 
vestige of her is to be seen. We parted with her 
two days since at nightfall. But she is still, I doubt 



PASSAGE FROM RIO TO CAPE HORN. 



155 



not, afloat, and will again loom to light. Courage, 
my little fellow ; you may outdo us yet — 



The race is not — to be got 
By him what swiftest runs, 

Nor is the battell — to the peopell 
What's got the longest guns." 




156 

CHAPTER V. 

PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 

GALE. HABITS OF THE ALBATROS AND PENGUIN. THE SEA OFF CAPE 

HORN. SLEET AND HAIL. FAREWELL TO THE CAPE. DIRECTIONS FOR 

DOUBLING THE CAPE.— GALE IN THE PACIFIC. APPEARANCE OF THE 

STARS. A RAINBOW. — DIVINE SERVICE. THE RAZOR AT SEA. THE 

LITTLE BARK. PLUM PUDDING AND TRIPE. THE CORDILLERAS. AR 

RIVAL AT VALPARAISO. 

Amid the storm, an iceberg's form 

Came tumbling through the ocean, 
So like the cape in hue and shape 

Our crew, who watched its motion, 
While rounding-to beneath our lee, 

Declared the Cape had put to sea. 

Sunday, Feb. 8. The severity of the weather and 
the heave of the sea prevent our holding divine ser- 
vice to-day. May each heart silently erect within 
itself an altar on which to offer the oblations of con- 
trition, gratitude, and faith. Religion is a mission 
from Heaven to the heart of man ; and when taken 
away from that heart, and shrined in stately temples 
and sumptuous altars, it loses its vitality and power. 
No floating censer or pealing organ can have the 
moral efficacy of that still small voice of the Deity, 
which speaks in the whispers of the human con- 
science. 

The gale which we have had for several days 
veered last night, and brought the heave of the sea 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 157 

under our quarter. It was enough to make our ship 
roll her masts out of her. Every thing not secured 
by strong lashings fetched away. Even the shot were 
thrown from the combings of our main hatch. As 
for repose in our berths, the Countess of Nottingham 
had as much of it under the death-shakings of her 
indignant queen, — till that last sleep overtook her 
which grief and rage reach not. I write this with 
my inkstand fastened down, my chair and table se- 
cured to the deck, and my paper presenting a plane 
at every heave of the sea steep enough, if it were 
covered with snow, to tempt the sledge of the truant. 
7 o'clock, p. m. Our barometer is now down to 
28.44, and is still falling. The gale has become 
truly terrific ; the sea and sky seem rushing together. 
We can only carry our storm try-sails ; and even 
their strength is tested to the last thread. The whole 
ocean is white with foam, which falls in cataracts 
from the crests of soaring waves. It is terrible 
and sublime to watch one of these huge combers 
heaving up within the horizon, and rolling mast high 
upon you. Niagara gazed at from the boiling abyss, 
is its only parallel. The hail is driving upon our 
deck, the sea breaking over our bows, and a starless 
night closing in. Yet a spirit of cheerfulness and 
alacrity in duty animates all. Captain Du Pont, 
with his thorough experience and sound judgment, 
leaves the deck ©nly to return to it again. Our first 

14 



158 DECK AND PORT. 



lieutenant is exercising that vigilance which never 
fails him through the ship, and our watch-officers 
meet the emergency with great firmness. But our 
trust is in Him who can say to the chainless wave, 
hitherto shalt thou come, and no further, and here 
shall thy proud strength be stayed. 

Monday, Feb. 9. The gale still continues with 
unmitigated force. Our ship has a good character 
for steadiness, but last night she plunged and rolled 
like a leviathan in his death-throes. At every heave 
of the sea she rolled her lee guns under. The water 
which was forced through her ports lay on her gun- 
deck ankle deep, and rolled in sheets over the comb- 
ings of her hatches. Her lee scuppers could not 
be opened to carry it off; and in opening her weath- 
er ones there was great danger of admitting a tor- 
rent to let out a rivulet. 

In the mid-watch my library, secretary, mirror, 
and washstand, fetched away. The books and look- 
ing-glass rushed together into my cot. I was half 
asleep, and thought for the moment our guns were 
tumbling below. In extricating myself I cut my 
hands with the fragments of the mirror. I felt for 
my clothes, and found them on the floor, covered 
with the wreck of my wash-bowl and pitcher, and 
well drenched. I hauled on a few articles and 
groped out to the gun-deck to get a light. The 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 159 

watch on deck had just been relieved and were 
crowding below, covered with sleet, stiff with cold, 
and wading through water ankle deep to reach their 
hammocks ; there to turn in and sleep in these 
drenched frozen garments. What are my petty 
griefs compared with this ? I got my light, and di- 
viding my berth with my books, shivered mirror, 
manuscripts, inkstand, razors, chessmen, and broken 
flasks of casash, turned in — abundantly satisfied with 
the romance of sea-life. 



Tuesday, Feb. 10. Lat. 57° 34' s., Ions. 61° 32 



&• 



w. We are very near where we were a week ago. 
Seven days of the roughest sea-service and in statu 
quo ! Our progress resembles that of Ichabod's court- 
ship, who being asked, after seven years of devoted 
attentions, how he got along in the business, replied 
that now and then he thought he had a little encour- 
agement, and should feel quite sure of it were it not 
for the rebuffs. 

The gale broke down last evening. The remnant 
of its force hauled round to the south and enabled 
us to lay our course, but a heavy head-sea has pre- 
vented our carrying sail. By the time the sea goes 
down, and we have shaken a few reefs out of our 
topsails, it may whirl back, and then we shall have 
to fight the battle over again, as the whigs said w r hen 
President Tyler suddenly took up his old democratic 



160 OECK AND PORT. 



position. But nil desperandum, the whigs will in 
time come into power, and we shall in time double 
Cape Horn. But the Cape and the democracy are both 
hard to weather. 

Our little bark is once more in sight. She has 
survived the gale, and is now, with good heart, 
struggling forward to double the Cape. Our stormy 
petrels still follow us. They are ever on the wing, 
close to our stern, to pick up the crumbs which are 
thrown overboard. Capt. King, of the British navy, 
states that having caught one of these birds and 
fastened a piece of ribbon to it, to designate it, he 
ascertained that it followed his ship over five thou- 
sand miles. A lesson to all good wives with wav- 
ward husbands* 

Wednesday, Feb. II. The wind, as we predicted, 
has gone back to its old quarter, like a wolf to his 
jungle. We have only been able to hold our own. 
Sunset leaves us where the flushing day found us. 

We have the albatros still about us, but we have 
missed the penguin. The habits of these birds are 
peculiar, especially when they get up their annual 
rookery. They select for this purpose, as one in- 
forms me who has been among them, a plot of smooth 
ground, covering two or three acres, and opening on 
the sea. From this they remove the sharp pebbles, 
piling them on each side into a miniature stone- 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 161 

fence. The ground is then plotted off into little 
squares, with paths intersecting each other at right 
angles. In each corner of the square a penguin 
scoops out a nest ; while the albatros takes, by com- 
mon consent, the centre, raises a small mound and 
constructs a nest on the top, so that each albatros 
has four penguins around him. The paths, which 
resemble gravelled walks, are used for promenading 
and exercise, except the broad one, which runs 
around the whole encampment, and where sentries 
are constantly patrolling. These sentries give the 
alarm at the approach of danger, and are relieved at 
regular intervals. The watch is kept up night and 
day, and is always under the command of the 
albatros. 

When the eggs have been laid, the strictest vigil- 
ance is exercised by the albatros to prevent the 
penguin from stealing them ; for the penguin lays 
but one egg, and, as if ashamed of making all this 
ado for the sake of that one, tries to get another from 
the nest of the albatros. But the latter has no idea 
of gratifying the domestic ambition of its neighbor in 
that way. There is of course little need among them 
of a foundling hospital. 

The eggs are never left or exposed to a breath of 

cold air during incubation. The male bird, who 

has been at sea seeking his repast, returns and takes 

the place of his faithful consort. He always allows 

14* 



162 DECK AND PORT. 



her the most favorable hours out of the twenty-four 
in which to secure her food, and often brings it to 
her, especially when the infant progeny requires her 
more delicate maternal attentions. He never ill- 
treats his mate, or goes off at the dead of night sere- 
nading other birds. He may have indeed his little 
domestic troubles, but he overcomes them by kind- 
ness and affection. His partner always greets him, 
on returning from his brief excursions at sea, with 
the liveliest expressions of gladness. Ye who prate 
of incompatibilities, and fly to a legislature for an 
act of separation if a little jar occurs at your hearth, 
look at these birds, and if there be shame or com- 
punction in ye, go find your divorced mates and 
resolve not to be outdone in forbearance and attach- 
ment by an albatros. 

When the little ones get sufficiently strong to 
endure a change of element, the penguins and 
albatros break up their encampment, and young and 
old take to the sea, that great harvest-field where the 
reapers of earth and air, under a beneficent Provi- 
dence, gather their food. But what have penguins 
to do with our getting round Cape Horn ? 

Thursday, Feb. 12. The lion-wind still roars 
irom its old lair. That lair lies directly in our path. 
If we attempt to escape it on the right, the breakers 
of Cape Horn lift their thunder ; if we try to avoid 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 163 

it on the left, tumbling icebergs present their steep 
fronts. So here we are, hemmed in like the hero of 
Marengo, amid the black battlements and keen hail 
of Russia's capital and clime. Patience, thou meek- 
est virtue in man, still pour on us thy soft, submis- 
sive light. 

10 o'clock, p. m. The wind went down with the 
sun, leaving only the long, low undulations of the sea. 
The moon is forth, placid as if this were no region 
of storms. The stars, without an obscuring veil, 
blaze in the deep blue vault of heaven. A flood of 
diamond light melts down through the depths of air, 
and pours itself in radiant softness on the sea. There 
it lies unbroken and still, save where the sleeping 
ocean gently heaves, like one who should breathe iit 
his shroud. Such a night as this in the region of 
Cape Horn ! It is as if a nightingale were to pour 
its liquid melody through the interludes of the forest- 
shaking storm. 

But pur anxiety is to know where, amid this seren- 
ity of the sea, the wind will next wake up — where 
the slumbering storm will first howl on the waste. 
The rising sun will not find us in that repose on 
which he shed his parting glance. 

A change Trill come, like that the sculptor throws 
In lines of life, on marble's cold repose. 

Friday, Feb. 13. In the night, our old frigate be- 



164 DECK AND PORT. 



ginning to stir herself complainingly, like one trou- 
bled with bad dreams, I asked the officer of the deck, 
as he came below from the mid-watch, about the 
wind. " In gusts from the northwest," was the re- 
plv. From the northwest! then we are laying our 
course — that will do ; and I relapsed back again into 
slumber, and dreamed we had rounded Cape Horn. • 
I saw it sheer astern, storming like a savage at the 
escape of his intended victim. 

The wind favored us during the morning, and we 
shot ahead with high hopes of success. But by noon 
it began to haul round towards the south, and in an 
hour or two more reached its old quarter, the south- 
west. It is now blowing a gale, and we have all 
sails furled except our close-reefed main-top and 
storm try-sails. The sea is running high, and the 
huge combers, shaking the foam from their crests, 
are rushing down upon us like a host of cavalry 
frothing at the bit. The sun is sinking in cold dim 
light, and seems to abandon the ocean to the lashing 
tempest. 

Such is the life of the sailor : one hour is full of 
sunshine, the next of storms. He lives between hope 
and disappointment : they alternate through his whole 
existence. Nothing but the most indomitable reso- 
lution could endure the vicissitudes of his lot. He 
is cheerful when others would despond, and triumphs 
when others would despair. He elicits sparks of joy 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 165 

from his hard lot, as you strike flashes of fire from 
flint. Ye who sigh over the tales of fictitious be- 
reavement, bestow one glance on this real tragedy of 
life. Here are woes which no illusion paints, — a 
death-knell rung by no unseen hands. 

Saturday, Feb. 14. The passenger who caught 
the first albatros, and which was liberated by the 
crew, caught another the day following and killed it 
to get its wings. It would probably have been res- 
cued by the sailors had they been aware of the cruel 
intention of its captor. They associate a sacredness 
with this noble bird which invests it with the privi- 
leges of a charmed life, and regard a violation of this 
sanctity as an outrage, which will be followed by 
disastrous consequences. Dark ominous looks fell 
on their faces when the wild whisper went round 
among them that the beautiful albatros had been 
killed. We had been for several days in thick foul 
weather — 

" At length did cross this albatros ; 
Through the fog it came ; 
As if it had been a Christian soul, 
We hailed it in God's name. 

" And a good north wind sprung up behind ; 
The albatros did follow, 
And every day for food, or play, 
Came to the mariner's hollo. 



166 DECK AND PORT. 



M And he has done a hellish thing, 
And it will work us woe ; 
For all averr'd, he had killed the bird 
That made the breeze to blow." 

" And it will work us woe" — and so it has proved, for 
we have had ever since head winds, gales, and 
storms. These, in the simple creed of the sailor, are 
the penalties through which expiation is to be made 
for the crime of having killed the albatros. 

Sunday, Feb. 15. Lat. 58° 39' s., long. 68° 41' w. 
We are at last some forty-five miles west of Cape 
Horn, and about one hundred and sixty south of it. 
This position we have gained in spite of the elements, 
by taking prompt advantage of those slight variations 
which will occur in winds of remarkable constancy : 
still we are not round the cape; for the wind is 
dead ahead, and is blowing almost a gale. We are 
on our larboard tack, close hauled, and shall be 
obliged this evening to wear ship and stand off to 
the southeast, where the heave of the sea alone, if 
the gale continues, will soon throw us back into the 
meridian of the cape. Such is life at sea; gaining, 
losing, persevering, and finally triumphing. 

8 o'clock, p. m. The cutting gale still continues. 
The sun has set in gloomy grandeur. As he plunged 
below the horizon, a flood of flame flashed up through 
the masses of cloud which overhung his descent. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 167 

This soon vanished ; and now thick darkness settles 
on the sea. The light of a full moon cannot struggle 
through it, and the brightest star glimmers on it 
faintly as the glow-worm on the pall of the coffined 
dead. Our sailors have had to-day very little of that 
comfort and rest which belong to the Sabbath. 
Though sent aloft as seldom as the condition of the 
ship would allow, still they have been often on the 
yards, with the rain and sleet driving in their faces. 
Nor have those on the deck fared much better. 
When off watch and allowed to reach the berth- 
deck, they have found their Bibles and tracts. May 
these scattered rays of heavenly light reach their 
hearts, and point their hopes to that shore where 
clouds and storms come not. 

Monday, Feb. 16. Our southwest gale went sud- 
denly down last night, and this morning a fresh wind 
rose in the northwest. We are now laying our 
course with a fair prospect of getting clear of Cape 
Horn. I have no desire of ever coming near this 
cape again. I would give it a berth world-wide. 

Here and there a navigator, it is true, has doubled 
the Cape without encountering the gales which we 
have experienced. But his good fortune was an" 
exception to a general rule. A man may escape 
death under the gallows by the breaking of the rope; 
but then the fifty, who come after him, will swing 



168 DECK AND PORT. 

till dead. This eape has acquired its stormy repu- 
tation by its acts. Had nautical theory only in- 
vested it with difficulties, they would long since have 
been dissipated by experience. But what navigators 
found the Cape a century ago their successors find 
it now. It is as true to its stormy character as a 
lion to his savage instincts. You may as well trifle 
with the shaking mane of the one as with the 
awaking tempest of the other. 

A distinguished naval commander — the late Com- 
modore Porter — who had cruised in almost every 
sea, inserted in his journal this significant paragraph : 
" The passage round Cape Horn, from the eastward, 
I assert, from my own experience, is the most dan- 
gerous, most difficult, and attended with more hard- 
ships than that of the same distance in any other 
part of the world." 

Tuesday, Feb. 17. Lat. 58° 10' s. ; long. 73° 33' w. 
We are at last round Cape Horn. We have left its 
stormy steeps astern, and are holding our course, 
with a stiff northwester, for more congenial climes. 



farewell to cape horn. 

Cape of clouds, of hail and thunder, 
Towering o'er a savage sea, 

Let the earth's wide circuit sunder 
Our departing keel and thee. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 169 

On thy scalp the keen hail dances, 

At thy base mad breakers roar, 
'Neath thine eye the iceberg glances 

From its steep antarctic shore. 

'Mid thy billows' wild commotion, 

In thy sea of tumbling foam, 
Scaly monsters of the ocean 

Share this undisputed home. 

Ships of oak, with storm-sails riven, 

From thy plunging combers reel, 
Like the war-horse backward driven, 

From the serried ranks of steel. 

Morn in smiles hath ne'er ascended 
O'er thy summit stark and drear ; 

Day and night are dimly blended 
In thy sunless atmosphere. 

Cape of clouds, of hail, and thunder, 

Sinking o'er the ocean's swell, 
Rallied hope and eluding wonder 

Shout to thee then- stern farewell 

Wednesday, Feb. 18. Our northwest wind, which 
we feared would fail us before we had made sufficient 
westing, began to awaken this afternoon apprehen- 
sions of a very different character. It suddenly rose 
into a gale of terrific energy. It seemed to pin the 
men to the shrouds as they tried to draw themselves 
up into the tops. Such was its roar through the rig- 
15 



170 DECK AND PORT. 



ging, you eould hardly hear a man at the top of his 
voice six feet off. It rivalled in force the hurricane 
which we experienced offTortugas, in 1831, and the 
sea it raised ran much higher. Our quarter-boats 
were in danger of being rolled under. 

3 o'clock, p. m. We have had to sail under close- 
reefed main-top, and fore and mizen storm try-sails. 
It seemed almost impossible for a ship to live in such 
a sea as now roared and heaved around us. Each 
comber in its towering height, seemed to bring 
with it the plunging force of a Niagara. It was as 
if the steep side of a mountain, with torrents foaming 
down its crags, were thrown against you by the 
earthquake. Had it struck us full on the broadside 
it would have dashed us into fragments. But our 
ship, with buoyant energy, rose up steadily over it, 
and descended again into the abyss, to encounter 
another just like it. This continued till near sunset, 
when the gale gradually subsided, and now, at mid- 
night, is scarcely sufficient to give us steerage way. 

Thursday, Feb. 19. The sun came up clear, over 
a calm, cold sea. We waited impatiently for the 
wind ; it came at length in broken gusts from the 
north, and so continued through the day. At sun- 
set we had a dash of hail from a group of passing 
clouds. The troubled twilight died away into a dark, 
cheerless night. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 171 

In doubling Cape Horn from the Atlantic, expe- 
rienced navigators, who differ in almost every other 
suggestion, agree in this — the expediency of keeping 
near the land, and especially so if the passage is made 
with the sun south of the equator. In this period of 
the year westerly winds prevail. They often rise in 
the northwest, yet in their sweep around the Isles of 
Diego Ramirez, take a westerly direction. Near the 
land you are within their circle, and can take advan- 
tage of every eddy to make westing, but further 
south you get their full force, and directly in your 
teeth. 

Besides, there is very little danger of being driven 
on the cape. It is a weatherly shore. The heave of 
the sea is counteracted, close in, by the strength of 
the current, which sets with great force to the east. 
This current will carry a vessel off towards the Falk- 
land Islands with the wind from the southwest and 
even south. And should it veer into the southeast, 
the reacting force of the current, close in, renders the 
position of your vessel comparatively safe, even when 
she is bound into the Atlantic. This provision of 
nature against being driven on the cape, is one of the 
few alleviations which she has thrown into the hard- 
ships of the mariner's lot. 

In rounding the cape from the Pacific the sum- 
mer months are the best, for then you have short 
nights and westerly winds. In rounding it from the 



172 DECK AND PORT. 



Atlantic you have a choice of evils in the different 
seasons. In the winter you have long nights and 
icebergs, but favorable winds. In the summer you 
have head winds, but short nights and no ice. Cap- 
tain King, of the British navy, who has spent several 
years in the vicinity of the cape, prefers the winter 
months. But Basil Hall, as the result of his expe- 
rience, recommends the summer season. My own 
opinion is, that any man who has a log-hut on land, 
with a corn cake at the fire, and who will consent to 
leave them to double Cape Horn for any purpose 
whatever, is a proper subject for a lunatic asylum. 

Friday, Feb. 20. Lat. 59° 51' s., long. 80° 12' w. 
The wind having veered this morning into the south- 
west, we tacked ship and stood north. The weather 
through the day has had all the extremes incident to 
high latitudes ; an hour of bright sunshine, and then 
a squall. We have not had at any time since we came 
off the cape, a smooth sea and a steady wind. We 
have now the long, sweeping waves of the Pacific. 
They image, in their majesty, the grandeur of the 
ocean over which they roll. Nature never impairs 
the sublimity of her works by blending the trivial 
with the vast. The shout of her torrents fills with 
solemn echoes the old ancestral wood. The many- 
voiced waves of her oceans shake the green isles with 
their stately anthems. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 173 

But nature has, in this portion of her mighty domain, 
sources of the beautiful and sublime in the constella- 
tions which light her heavens. Each star burns out 
from the blue vault with the brilliancy and force of 
an independent sun. It has a breadth of circle and 
an intensity of light which opens on you like the 
flame from the eye of the volcano. And then there 
is the Southern Cross, a constellation hanging serene 
and beautiful over the troubled night of the grave. 
To it not only the Christian pilgrim turns in his path 
to heaven, but the weary traveller of earth seeks his 
late repose by its inclined beam. 

" Tis past midnight ; the Cross begins to bend." 

Saturday, Feb. 21. Our westerly winds still hold ; 
we are braced up sharp, and steering north. But we 
have had to-day a strong current setting us east, and 
trying to drive us back again off Cape Horn. We have 
lost by its force one degree of the westing we had 
made. If it continues, and the wind remains in its pres- 
ent quarter, we shall be obliged ultimately to tack ship 
and stand off to the southwest ; a gloomy, discour- 
aging result. It is the fate of Agag after congratu- 
lating himself on his escape. But He whose steps 
are on the clouds, and whose pathway is in the mighty 
deep, will order all things right. 

We had to-day, at sunset, a sudden shower. It 
fell from a cloud travelling east upon an upper cur- 
15* 



174 DECK AND PORT. 



rent of air, and which carried on its front, as it passed 
down over the swelling arch of the ocean, a magnifi- 
cent sun-bow. A moment before all had been cloud, 
darkness, and storm — 

" When overhead this rainbow, bursting through 

The scattering clouds, shone, spanning the dark sea, 
Resting its bright base on the quivering blue : 

And all within its arch appeared to be 
Clearer than that without, and its wide hue 

Waxed broad and waving like a banner free. 
It changed again ; a heavenly chameleon, 

The airy child of vapor and the sun, 
Brought forth in purple, cradled in vermilion, 
Baptized in molten gold, and swathed in dun." 

i 
Sunday, Feb. 22. Though the sea is rough, and 
the roll of the ship deep, we have had divine service. 
Even a brief service is much better than none. It 
is a recognition of the sanctity of the Sabbath, and 
of our obligations to that Being whose guardian care 
is our defence. 

If dependence can awaken the voice of suppli- 
cation, the sailor, of all men, should be the most 
devout. His poor frail bark floats between life and 
death. A sudden tempest, a latent rock, or a spark 
of fire, and he sinks into a strangling grave. He 
may emerge, but it is only to strike his strong arms 
in wild despair. No drifting plank floats between 
him and the "pale bourne." Prepared or unpre- 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 175 

pared, he must appear at once before the dread tri- 
bunal and answer for the deeds of his erring life. 
He should live with these awful realities ever present 
to his thoughts. Like the bird of the stormy peak, 
his pinion should be ever ready to unfurl itself. But 
from his flight there is no return ; he is off into the 
boundless unknown. 

This is the anniversary of the birthday of Wash- 
ington. Its sacredness is in harmony with his serene 
virtues. Too pure for corruption, too disinterested 
for ambition, he lived for his country and his God. 
The entire energies of his being were surrendered to 
those great interests which will quicken the hopes of 
man when the marble that guards his dust has 
crumbled. He has left an example which throws its 
steady light on the fetters of captive nations and into 
the pale recesses of kings. Millions who sit in dark- 
ness will yet hail its auroral splendors. 

Monday, Feb. 23. To save ourselves from being 
carried back among the Patagonians, we have tacked 
ship and are standing southwest by west. This, with 
two points variation, and the current in our favor, 
will enable us to make a nearly west course. With 
the first material variation in the wind we shall be 
able to go upon our larboard tack and make a stretch 
up the coast. 

The high sea and heavy roll of our ship made the 



176 DECK AND PORT. 



use of the razor this morning a delicate operation. 
I had strapped the instrument and laid it on my 
bureau, when away it went into the wash-bowl. 
Having fished it up and made it secure, I got out my 
china box of shaving-soap, but laying it down for 
a moment to find the brush, crash it went on the 
floor. Picking up the fragments, I managed to raise 
suds enough for the present occasion ; when looking 
around for my razor, to my astonishment, it could 
nowhere be found. It had fetched away again, and 
brought up in one of my boots. But I had no sooner 
recovered it, than my candle, having caught the 
moving infection, rushed into my cot and scorched 
my pillow-case. All things being righted again, and 
a little fresh suds applied where the old had evap- 
orated, I took the razor, and watching for the ship to 
get on an even keel, gave a clip ; but it so happened 
the ship plunged instead of rolling, and this brought 
the point of the razor in contact with the extremity 
of the nose, where a severe cut proclaimed itself in 
a gush of blood. But stanching the wound, I 
managed at length, by a clip here, and another 
there, to disencumber the chin of its stubble. Such 
are some of the advantages for shaving at sea. 
Man was made perfect, but has sought out many 
inventions, and this of shaving at all is one of 
them. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 177 

Tuesday, Feb. 24. Lat. 53° 35' s., long. 78° 

56' w. 

" It comes resistless, and with foaming sweep, 
Upturns the whitening surface of the deep ; 
In such a tempest, borne to deeds of death, 
The wild-weird sisters scour the blasted heath." 

The black clouds which hovered in the western hori- 
zon last evening, hung their banners of darkness over 
the descending sun, as if impatient of the presence of 
that orb in the frightful work which they purposed. 
Before his level rays had left the ocean, their waiting 
squadrons began to rally. One black cohort after 
another filed into the ranks, till they presented a solid 
mass of impetuous strength. Thus compact, they 
moved down upon the plane of the trembling sea. 
When opening to the right and left, a tempest rushed 
forth, which seemingly nothing but the stable moun- 
tains could withstand. 

Our ship had been put under storm-sails for the 
encounter ; and yet, even with this precaution, she 
rolled down before its force like a crushed foe ; while 
the crested waves howled over her as savages in a 
death-dance over their victim. It was some minutes 
before she could recover herself. She was overpow- 
ered, but her courage was not broken. At every 
pause in the storm she came up, and then plunged 
into it as if for life or death. The conflict closed 
about midnight, and our ship won another laurel for 



178 DECK AND PORT. 



steadiness and strength. This was the most violent 
gale that we have experienced. 

Wednesday, Feb. 25. We had this evening one 
of the most beautiful phenomena connected with sun- 
set at sea. The flaming orb had been for more than 
an hour below the horizon, when the long, dark bank 
of clouds, beneath which he had disappeared, lifted, 
disclosing a lake of golden light, which poured its 
melting radiance far and wide over the sea. It 
seemed as a rosy morn rising out of the bosom of 
night. 

Not a star lit the blue vault, and yet the spars and 
tracery of our ship became visible in the soft efful- 
gence of the departed sun. When the beautiful of 
earth die, they carry their pale charms with them to 
the shroud ; but when the brilliant orbs of the sky 
depart, they light their very pall with their surviving 
splendors. The light even of the Pleiad, lost in the 
infant world, still circles around her choiring sisters, 
who have poured for ages her sweet melodious dirge. 

Our long-lost, little bark peered to light this morn- 
ing on our lee-beam. We had parted with her in a 
storm off the Cape, and had relinquished all expecta- 
tion of falling in with her again. But here she is, 
within three miles of us, with the American ensign 
flying at her peak, in answer to ours. We may yet 
speak her. She is, we conjecture, the Charles, which 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 179 

sailed from Boston on the first of November, bound 
to the Sandwich Islands. If she stops at Valparaiso 
she will probably find us there. We outsail her, 
though she has managed, by keeping close in, to 
double the Horn with us. 

Thursday, Feb. 26. Our west wind continued 
through yesterday and carried us some eight knots 
the hour towards our port ; but this morning it has 
veered into the north and compelled us to go upon 
our starboard tack. This steering due west, when 
our port lies due north, is reaching our destination 
by right angles. But there is no angle, that ever yet 
shaped itself in the wildest mathematical dream, 
which is not described by a ship at sea. The path 
of the boa constrictor is not further from a right line. 

Our nights are beginning to lengthen as we ap- 
proach the sun. Off the Cape we had only a brief 
dip of darkness. The day was sixteen hours, twi- 
light three, and the night five. Our fowls lost their 
reckoning, and were clucking and crowing when 
they should have been asleep. What could be done 
in our country with only five hours of night ? Be- 
fore the elite of our city got to a party it would be 
daylight ; and as for the rural swain, who does all 
his courting on Sunday night, the sun would be up 
before he had got half way to the all-important, yet 
very awkward question. He would have to begin 



180 DECK AND PORT. 



anew each Sabbath eve, and stop where he left off 
before. A sailor would settle the whole business in 
fifteen minutes, and what is more, he would then 
stick to his bargain for better or worse. He never 
troubles a court or legislature for a divorce. If he 
cannot make good weather on one tack he tries 
another; but he never throws his mate overboard, 
nor scuttles his own ship. But let that pass. 

Friday, Feb. 27. It is now forty-four days since 
we left Rio. We had a splendid run to the Cape, 
but since that we have wrenched every league from 
the elements by the hardest. We sailed two thou- 
sand miles off the Cape to make four hundred on our 
course. We literally beat round it. A feat that has 
been deemed almost impracticable. We have hardly 
been for an hour without a head wind and a head 
sea. We have the latter to-day, but a wind from 
the west that is driving us on in spite of it nine knots 
the hour. 

We are rapidly reaching more genial latitudes. 
The transition is like that from Lapland to the Line. 
The severity of the cold off the cape is inexplicable. 
The thermometer never fell below the freezing point, 
and yet no amount of clothing we could put on, 
would keep us warm. We shivered in double 
flannels and over-coats ; our feet, had they been 
chiselled from ice, could scarcely have been colder ; 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 181 

and all this in a temperature that would not crisp a 
pool of sleeping water. Hail fell, it is true, .with 
great force and frequency, but it was from upper 
strata of air. The currents nearer the sea would 
not have congealed vapor. 

It will be said we felt the cold more, coming, as 
we did, from a torrid clime. But the system does 
not cool down so rapidly. The rigors of the first 
northern winter are felt least by those born nearest 
the sun. The Italian division in the Russian cam- 
paign suffered less than any other. The Poles fell 
like icicles from a tree shaken by a winter storm, 
while the Neapolitans seemed to melt the very snows 
in which they bivouacked. The cold we experi- 
enced is to be ascribed to the absorption of electri- 
city from the system by the condition of the atmos- 
phere. 

Saturday, Feb. 28. Lat. 45° 10' s., long. 80° 
24' w. We are now making a good run towards our 
port. If our west wind holds we shall in a few days 
let go our anchors in the harbor of Valparaiso. 
Fresh meat, vegetables, and milk will be a luxury. 
Our last pig and fowl went some days since to the 
cook. Our potatoes still hold out, but they are not 
larger than bullets, and are as full of water as a tick 
of blood. Our hommony is in the kernel, and will 
not soften sufficiently for use short of a week's boil- 

16 



182 DECK AND PORT. 



ing, which is hardly practicable in a ship's economy 
of water. 

The only fresh article of the flesh kind that comes 
upon our table, is salmon, which has been preserved 
in air-tight jars. Our bread is baked on board ; by 
what process it is attempted to be raised I know not; 
but well would it be for human nature were its 
vanity as little puffed up. We attempted a plum- 
pudding to-day, but every plum was as soundly im- 
bedded as marine fossils in primitive rocks. We 
have some tripe left, but I understand the leader of 
our band wants it for a drum-head, and our black- 
smith is anxious to get it for an apron. If its apti- 
tudes determine the disposition to be made of it, no 
connoisseur in gastrotomy can save it from the 
anvil or the drum. Well dried it would ring a 
good tattoo, 

Or shield a Yulcan, while he shapes 
The form his bolted thunder takes. 

Sunday, March 1. Divine service on the spar- 
deck ; officers and crew present ; the air balmy ; the 
broad Pacific heaving in silent majesty around, and 
a soft cloud, loaded with the incense of nature, soar- 
ing into the great dome of heaven. Lead me for 
worship — 

Wot to the dome, where crumbling arch and column 
Attest the feebleness of mortal hand. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 183 

But to the fane, most catholic and solemn, 

Which God hath planned : 
To that cathedral, boundless as her wonder, 

Whose quenchless lamps the sun and moon supply ; 
Its choir, the winds and waves ; its organ, thunder ; 

Its dome, the sky. 

Found in the sick-bay to-day a sailor, who spoke 
feelingly and well on the subject of religion. He is 
a member of the Methodist church, and carries a 
warm, devoted heart under his rude exterior. It is 
not the smoothest cloud that has in it the most of 
summer's balmy breath. It is a great comfort to me 
to find among the crew here and there one of earnest 
piety. His example flashes out like a star from a 
sky of cloud and storm. God grant these lights may 
be multiplied till our whole horizon shall be lit with 
their steady splendors. 

* Mrs. Ten Eyke, the wife of our consul on board, 
whose health has been for some time delicate, is 
gradually sinking. How cold the grave to one so 
young, to whom the earth seems so fair, and life so full 
of joyous pulses ! O death ! to thy unbreathing realm 
glide silently away the beautiful and the beloved. 

" They hear a voice, we may not hear, 
Which says they must not stay ; 
They see a hand we may not see, 
Which beckons them away." 

Monday, March 2. We fidded our topgallant- 



184 DECK AND PORT. 



masts ; crossed our royal yards ; rousted up and 
mounted the eight spar-deck guns, which had been 
struck below off the Cape ; unbent our heavy topsails 
and courses, and bent lighter ones ; holystoned our 
decks ; scrubbed our paint-work ; cleaned our brass 
rails ; finished our new side-ladder ; and repaired the 
whaleboat stove in the gale. A good day's work all 
this, and a wid* stride in our preparations for port. 
Our band in the mean time is practising some bril- 
liant airs, with which we expect to captivate the 
Chilanos. But of all the music that ever melted on 
mortal ear, give me 

The lay of streamlets, and the trill of birds, 
The lisp of children, and their earliest words. 

The ccelebs may turn away from these earliest 
words, for they have a music which he understands 
not. There is not a string in his soul which they 
can touch — not a chord to vibrate as their pulses 
play over it. But should he wed, and a sweet minia- 
ture of life reflect his own features, lisp with his 
voice, and smile with his eyes, he would hang over 
it as the Peri over the long-sought secret that was to 
admit her to celestial bliss. Its faintest note would 
breathe a sweeter strain than ever trembled from the 
strings of the Orphean lyre. The earth might be 
full of loudest harmonies, but he would still turn his 
ear to that slender note of piping infancy. But let 
that pass. 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 185 

Tuesday, March 3. Our studding-sails, which 
have lain undisturbed for several weeks, have been 
out to-day, below and aloft, to a light breeze from 
the south. The sea has been smooth, presenting 
only its long, majestic undulations. The ocean never 
rests. From the day morn first broke over its silent 
depths, it has been rolling on to the present hour. 
Capitals have crumbled on its shores, thrones and 
dynasties perished, but it still rolls on in the majesty 
of its unabated strength. 

Our preparations for port are still going on. Our 
standing rigging has been tarred ; our masts, yards, 
booms, and hull have received a fresh coat of paint. 
Our guns are beginning to throw back the sun-light 
from their polished surface. You would hardly sus- 
pect such vollied thunder could sleep in their re- 
cesses. Our cutlasses have been furbished, our 
boarding-pikes sharpened, and our carbines made 
true to their trust. We bear the olive-branch and 
the sword. 

Our albatrosses have left us. They followed us to 
the verge of the summer's clime, and then, wheeling 
on their bold, arching wings, sped back to their win- 
try domain. They were our only companions off 
the Cape, and something like a sentiment of bereave- 
ment fell on us, as they took their departure. 

The heart will doubly feel alone, 
When that which served to cheer hath flown. 
16* 



186 DECK AND PORT. 



Wednesday, March 4. Our sick list, which ran 
up to forty, in consequence of the hardships and ex- 
posures off the cape, is rapidly diminishing. Com- 
modore Stockton, who has been quite ill, is convales- 
cent. We should regret extremely any circumstance 
that would deprive us of the pleasures and advan- 
tages derived from our present relations to him. 
Mr. G., one of our watch officers, has been for some 
days confined to his berth. But he is gathering 
strength again, and will soon be able to resume his 
post on the quarter-deck. 

As for myself, I am a slender reed, easily bowed 
before the blast, but coming up again as soon as its 
force is spent. I entered the navy with a constitu- 
tion impaired by sedentary habits, and have perhaps 
derived some advantage from the recreations and ad- 
ventures involved in a sea-life. I have been in 
every variety of climate, but I doubt much if these 
changes have been promotive of health. My advice 
to invalids is, never go to sea with the expectation 
that ship-board is to restore you. A change of cli- 
mate may be of benefit, but the passage in nine cases 
out of ten will begin in seasickness and end in de- 
bility. If you have a comfortable home, stay by it ; 
if your digestion is bad, stop eating; if your nerves 
are deranged, bathe in cold water ; if you have chil- 
dren, romp and frolic with them. This is much 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 187 

better than sucking sugar canes in Cuba, or going to 
Rome to kiss the pope's toe. 

Thursday, March 5. Our hawse bucklers are 
out, our chains bent, and we are now ready to let go 
our anchors ; we are still seventy miles from our 
port, but the first breeze, which breaks the calm of 
the sea, will probably take us in. We are now fifty 
one days out from Rio, and more than half of them 
have been passed in storms. We have been at sea 
since we left the United States, one hundred and 
three days ; and have sailed, in that time, twelve 
thousand two hundred and twenty miles. We have 
yet some twelve thousand miles more to sail before 
we circle round into the port where we may look for 
repose. Our ship is another dove over the unsub- 
sided waters of the deluge. 

Several of the stormy petrels, which joined us be- 
fore we reached the Cape, are still skimming along 
in the wake of our keel. They follow us, as little 
politicians their leader, for crumbs, not of office—* 
they are too sensible for that — but of Jack's table- 
cloth ; and in doing this they never displace or dis- 
turb their betters. Between a stormy petrel and a 
little party politician I should not hesitate a moment 
where to place my regard. We have had about us 
to-day a flotilla of whales, sharks, and porpoises. 
Their gambols stirred the sleeping sea into foam. 



188 DECK AND PORT. 



They seemed to be trying their speed. The whale 
was quickest to the goal, but slowest in doubling it. 
His head is entirely too far from his tail. I com- 
mend his case to the Owenites at their next world- 
convention. 

Friday, March 6. The light breeze which fanned 
us along faintly through the night, has left us in the 
morning-watch within twenty miles of our port. The 
coast on our starboard beam lies full in view, with 
its deep indentations, and its bold bluffs, against 
which the Pacific rolls its surge. Far in the back- 
ground rise the stupendous steeps of the Cordilleras, 
throwing their shadows a hundred miles at sea. On 
their summit, glittering with the icy hail of centuries, 
the morning star furls its wing of flame. Beneath 
such a vision, what is man ? He disappears, and his 
shadow, as if ashamed to linger, goes with him. 

The breeze, for which we have been waiting and 
watching, has come. Our studding-sails, below and 
aloft, are out to catch its first breath. We are again 
moving up the coast. Fifteen miles of it are passed, 
but no headland appears which we can identify with 
those designated on the chart. Seven more, and still 
no evidences of a harbor. We begin to think our 
master, like a Millerite, has left out some figure in his 
reckoning. 

At last we discover, upon a slight swell in the 



PASSAGE FROM CAPE HORN TO VALPARAISO. 189 

coast, a little lighthouse, but no bay, and nothing that 
indicates one. Doubling this projection, we catch 
our first glimpse of Valparaiso, nestled among the 
fissures and shelves of a steep ascent of rocks. It 
seems one of those wild nooks in which pirates might 
have sought a perilous home. Taking in our stud- 
ding-sails, and hauling up our courses, we have 
rounded to handsomely, and anchored in thirty-two 
fathoms. 

All eyes are directed to the shipping. A French 
man-of-war has already saluted us ; a national cour- 
tesy which we have promptly returned. But we are 
looking for the American flag ; only one can be 
seen, and that is flying over a merchantman. No 
national vessel holds out any hope of letters from 
home by the Isthmus. Our disappointment is con- 
firmed by our consul, who informs us that no dis- 
patches have been received from the United States 
of a date subsequent to our departure, except a copy 
of the President's message, which was brought in the 
English mail, and which was considered quite bel- 
ligerent in its tone. The news of the resignation of 
the Peel ministry greatly surprises us, and has in it, 
as we fancy, quite a little war-cloud. A national 
ship abroad catches every premonition of hostilities 
as quickly as a barometer the approach of a storm. 

So, here we are at last in front of Valparaiso, with 
a continent and an ocean between us and our homes ; 



190 DECK AND PORT. 



another ocean still to be traversed, and to roll us yet 
wider asunder ; and then this war-cloud on the hori- 
zon ! But there is one separation, one which awaits 
us all, still wider than this — the chasm of the grave. 
Over that no signals extend, and no messenger-bird 
hath winged its way. I have walked in its pale light 
for years, hovering between the sun and a total 
eclipse. 

u Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

And our hearts, though stout and brave, 
Still, like muffled drums, are beating 
Funeral marches to the grave." 




191 



CHAPTER VI. 

SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 

ASPECT OF THE CITY. GROUPS ON THE QUAY. CHILIAN HORSEMANSHIP. 

THE WOMEN. HUTS OF THE NATIVES. AMERICAN AND ENGLISH SO- 
CIETY. OPERA-HOUSE. THE TERTULIA. MODE OF TRAVELLING. POLICE 

OF THE CITY. — VISITS FROM THE SHORE. FEUDAL SYSTEM. THE CLER- 
GY. THE BIBLE IN CHILI. THE CONFESSIONAL. BURIAL GROUND. THE 

INDIAN MOTHER. — POLITICAL CONDITION OF CHILI. FAREWELL TO VAL- 
PARAISO. 

Where Valparaiso's cliffs and flowers, 

In mirrored wildness, sweep 
Their shadows round the mermaid's bowers, 

Our steadfast anchors sleep. 

Saturday, March 7. Valparaiso, at a first glance, 
instead of justifying the name it bears — the vale of 
Paradise — might rather be called some outpost of 
purgatory. Its wild crags, its scorched hills, and 
dark glens might well be supposed to lead to that 
intermediate abode of condemned spirits. You are 
puzzled to know why a city should be there. With- 
out encroaching on the sea, there is hardly room 
enough, between the base of the steep acclivities and 
the surge, to set up a fisherman's hut. The harbor 
is but little better than an open roadstead. A norther 
is an admonition to all vessels to slip their cables. 

Yet Valparaiso is a city, and one which, having 



192 DECK AND PORT. 



once seen, you will never forget. It will stand alone 
in your after-dreams like Jacob's ladder. Like the 
rounds in that airy vision, its buildings ascend, roof 
over roof, till they seem to topple in the sky. One 
violent shake of an earthquake would precipitate the 
whole into the sea. And yet these terrible visita- 
tions are constantly throwing out their premonitions. 
There is not a building whose walls have not vi- 
brated to their force. There is not a rock on which 
they rest, but is of volcanic origin. The soaring 
peaks of the Cordilleras, which overhang them, rest 
on craters that may at any moment throw thern 
heaven-high. And yet who does not sleep sound in 
Valparaiso ? Such is peril, when it has become an 
old familiar acquaintance. 

We landed from our boat on the jetty, which has 
been thrown out from the beach to prevent the 
necessity of debarking in the surf. The quay was 
alive with boatmen, cracking their jokes over their 
water-melons and coarse bread. A fat friar was seen 
straying among them, willing to shrive the most 
wayward for a large melon. One fellow, who looked 
as if he had obliquities enough to justify some 
effacing process, made light of the proffered shrift. 
He thought a green melon would pay. 

Near by sat a Chilano on a stone, which swelled 
up from the pavement, tantalizing the strings of a 
guitar, while a little cloud of tobacco-smoke curled 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 193 

up around the high cone of his felt hat. The only 
accompaniment was the sharp creak of a file, with 
which a muleteer was sharpening the rowel of his 
spurs, which resembled a circular saw, except that 
the teeth were much longer. 

Here a beggar, who had lost a leg, hobbled up to 
us, wearing around his neck a label, showing that he 
had the permission of the police to solicit alms on 
Tuesdays and Saturdays. Poor fellow! if his limb 
was lost in a good cause, he ought to be allowed to 
solicit charity when he can get it. And if it was 
lost even in a scuffle, it would not be in my heart 
to deny him a penny. What a world is this in 
which we dwell ! How is it filled with paupers, 
spurs, tobacco, guitars, water-melons, and absolving 
monks ; all jangling and jargoning along together to 
dusty death ! What an incongruous mass the grave 
covers ! 

Sunday, March 8. Divine service on board ; a 
large attendance of Americans from the shore. Sub- 
ject of the discourse — cause and criminality of inde- 
cision in matters of religion. The state religion of 
Chili is the Roman Catholic. Protestant forms of 
worship are tolerated, but in a private way. The 
erection of churches for the purpose is not permitted. 
A hall may be used, if it has no symbols of consecra 
tion. Think of that, my dear Papal brothers in the 
17 



194 DECK AND PORT. 



United States, kneeling in your sumptuous cathe- 
drals, while your vesper-bells summon from their 
lofty steeples the faithful to prayer. And you talk to 
us Protestants about toleration ! Why, there is more 
toleration in my Uncle Toby's teapot than can be 
found in the whole Papal See. 

Before'you assey the ballot-box again, because the 
Bible, without note or comment, is permitted in our 
public schools, look abroad and see what privileges 
you extend to Protestants. In those countries where 
your religion and laws are all paramount, you do not 
tolerate the consecration of the humblest chapel ; 
and as for a steeple and bell, they would not stand 
long enough to knell their own ruin. And yet you 
talk of toleration, and lecture the whole world on 
Christian charity ! The language of forbearance and 
fraternal love melts from your lips softly as dew 
on the flowers of Hermon. One would think, from 
your professions, Protestants must have a perfect 
elysium in your lands. But somehow it strangely 
happens that they are disqualified for holding any 
office of civil trust ; and are denied even a consecra- 
ted place of worship. They are fortunate if allowed 
the sanctity of a grave. 

In Chili, intolerance flows purely from the man- 
dates of the Papal hierarchy. Legislators, as a body, 
are well disposed, but they cannot carry their liberal 
measures without putting the stability of their civil 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 195 

institutions in peril. An act of religious toleration 
would be followed by ecclesiastical denunciations 
and appeals to the passions of the mass, which would 
result in revolution' and blood. Come here, my bish- 
op of New York, with your smooth doctrines about 
the rights of conscience, and talk a little to your 
brother bishops in this quarter. If these doctrines 
are good when proclaimed to American Protestants, 
let us see how they will sound in the ears of Chilian 
Catholics. Do a few leagues of salt water destroy 
their force and propriety ? Do they cease to be or- 
thodox the moment they leave a Protestant shore and 
enter a Papal domain ? 

Come, my dear bishop, set down here in Chili with 
me, and let us talk together a little. You tell us the 
rights of the human conscience are sacred. What 
rights of conscience have Protestants in Chili — or 
even in Rome ? You go there once in three years 
to report in person to the holy Father, you see 
Protestants filing off on the Sabbath through a narrow, 
dirty street, to' a little, obscure chapel, without steeple 
or bell, w r here they may worship, if they won't speak 
above a whisper. And then you return to New 
York and talk to its corporation about the sacred 
rights of conscience! Your toleration, my dear 
bishop, is much like the Yankee hunter's division of* 
game with his Indian companion — all turkey on one 
side and all buzzard on the other. 



196 



DECK AND PORT. 



Monday, March 9. I encountered, in my ram- 
bles to-day, a specimen of Chilian horsemanship. 
The costume of the rider was in'wild harmony with 
his occupation. His hat rose in a high cone, like 
that of a whirling dervish in Turkey. His poncho, 
resembling a large shawl, fell in careless folds around 
his person. His gaiters rose to the knee ; his heels 
were armed with a huge pair of silver-mounted spurs, 
while a brace of pistols peered from the holster of his 
saddle-bow. He was mounted on a powerful animal, 




impatient of the bit, and sure of foot as the moun- 
tain roe. The strong muscles betrayed their swell- 
ing lines in his limbs ; the dilating nostril was full of 
panting force, while his arching neck seemed clothed 
with thunder. He was such a steed as you would 
choose for that last decisive charge, in which a Wa- 
terloo is to be won or lost. 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 197 

His rider knew him well and gave him the rein ; 
on he dashed, over hill and vale, with the speed of 
the wind. Now shaking the topling crags with his 
iron hoof, now plunging down the steep ravine, now 
leaping, with frightful force, the sudden chasm ; 
never missing his foothold, never throwing his' rider. 
Both were safe where the neck of neither seemed 
worth a farthing. I have seen the Tartar ride at 
Constantinople, and witnessed, with silent admira- 
tion, the Grand Sultan's horsemanship, but he is 
outdone by the Chilano. 

A company of circus-riders, from Europe, came 
here a few years since to astonish the Chilians. But 
they soon found they had brought their ware to a 
wrong market. The Chilanos took the business out 
of their hands ; and so far outdid them that they sud- 
denly disappeared, and have not been heard of in 
"hese parts since. It was like a buffalo entering a 
herd of deer to astonish them with his fleetness, or 
like a bull attempting a race with one of Baldwin^ 
locomotives. 

The Chilian women betray their Spanish blood. 
It is seen in their stately forms, their firm elastic 
step, their nut-brown complexion, their large black 
eyes, and their earnestness of manner, which is full 
of silent, significant force. They wear their hair in 
two plaits, which are sometimes coiled into a turban 
and interlaced with flowers, and at others flows from 

17* 



198 DECK AND PORT. 



a slight fillet, quite down to the heel. They use no 
stays ; the tide of nature ebbs and flows without 
constraint. The rich shawl which covers the neck 
and shoulders, neglects at times its occupation, and 
the silk stocking forgets now and then that it has 
taken the veil. 

They are fond of attentions, and will much sooner 
excuse a liberty, which flows from admiration, than 
a neglect, which results from indifference ; still they 
are not considered as very exacting. What they 
want is the homage of the heart. Civility that has 
no soul in it, they consider a mockery. Love is 
consequently with them a passion. As daughters, 
they are wild and thoughtless ; as mothers, fond of 
their children and attached to their homes. The 
most sober flower will often blossom from the bud 
that has danced the most lightly in the sunbeam. 

Tuesday, March 10. 1 encountered to-day in the 
environs of Valparaiso, a long string of donkeys, 
laden with vegetables and fruit from Quilota, some 
forty miles distant. The little hardy fellows were 
plodding along in single file, covered up under their 
huge panniers, and turning this way or that to the 
cry of their driver, who brought up the rear. I 
never could encounter one of these creatures with- 
out a sentiment of pity and even respect. He seems 
as one doomed to drudgery, merely because nature 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 199 

has wronged him in making him up. And then his 
patience — it is a model. He has long ears it is true, 
but then he never, like those who consider them- 
selves his betters, tries to conceal them. He is an 
honest ass ! 

The markets of Valparaiso are supplied from val- 
leys in the interior. The grounds in the immediate 
neighborhood are, for many months in the year, 
parched up with drouth. Large tracts of land, well 
suited to the harrow, are herbless from want of 
•means to irrigate them. Springs have been hunted, 
and rocks bored almost half-way to the earth's cen- 
tre, but in vain. Even the monks have tried their 
miraculous charms, but nature's great Nile obeys no 
such incantations. Their fleece, unlike that of Gid- 
eon, remained dry. No snow falls on these vallies, 
and no rain, except in the three winter months. 
The earth becomes baked and broken into deep 
fissures. When the winds are abroad the dust is 
driven over it in clouds thick enough to bury a 
Gipsy encampment. 

The huts of the native peasantry are built of reeds, 
plastered with mud and thatched with straw. They 
have seldom more*than one room, and are generally 
without a floor. Here the inmates sit, sleep, and 
work in wigwam-life. They seldom look beyond 
their present wants. Their industry ebbs or flows 
as plenty or penury prevail. Out of these murky 



200 DECK AND PORT. 



calftns beauty sometimes emerges in a combination 
of charms that might stir the chisel of a Praxiteles. 

The females are generally pictures of health and 
animation. Their diet is coarse bread and fruit. 
They know nothing of the luxuries of the table, and 
seem to care as little. They are fond of music and 
dancing, and throw an energy into their motions 
which would astonish even a Shaker. The qua- 
drille has not sufficient action in it. They prefer 
the fandango. The old are grouped around the 
broad circle in which the young couple spring to the 
vibrations of the guitar or violin. The short dress 
of the female, and the prurient motions of both, are 
at war with all our sentiments of propriety. Still, 
unless nature libel herself, the mothers who witness 
these exhibitions in their daughters, must be influ- 
enced more by a false taste than a lubricity of dispo- 
sition. This is as true of savage as civilized life — of 
the Chilian mother as the Roman matron. Nature 
has thrown her most beautiful iris in a mother's look 
over the wave which flows from the depths of a 
daughter's unsullied soul. 

Wednesday, March 11. The* features of Valpa- 
raiso, which strike the stranger with the greatest 
force, are perhaps the elegant articles of ornament 
which are presented in the fancy shops. They seem 
as much out of place here as a jewel in a swine's 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 201 

snout. And yet they are not out of place ; for higher 
forms of fashionable life are seldom encountered. 
Those little cottages, which gleam from the toppling 
crags, are garnished with furniture on which the 
Parisian artist has exhausted his skill. From the 
balcony rolls out upon the wind the most exquisite 
music of harp and voice. Such strains from amid 
such a savage scene ! It is like Proserpine, crossing 
the gloomy Styx, crowned with the flowers of para- 
dise. 

The English and Americans here are singularly 
free from those rivalries and jealousies, which are the 
besetting sin of foreign residents. They flow to- 
gether with a congeniality of spirit, which is the 
source of a thousand pleasures to them as well as the 
stranger. Their society is the all-redeeming charm 
of Valparaiso. Their hospitality is open as the day, 
and warm as their soft clime. You forget in their 
company the rude rocks and barren hills around you. 
The earth without may be covered with brambles, 
but you feel for the time in a sort of Eden whose 
flowers have escaped the primal malediction. I do 
not wonder that this is the favorite port with the 
officers of the Pacific squadron. They always leave 
it with regret, and cherish for it the most affectionate 
remembrance. 

Who would expect to find among these wild cliffs 
an opera house, vying, in the elegance of its decora- 



202 DECK AND PORT. 



tions and the richness of its music, with some of the 
most liberally endowed establishments in Europe? 
yet such is the fact. Of its merits I speak from the 
representations of others, as I have not myself been 
within its precincts. I declined going, not from an 
apprehension of moral taint, conducted as the opera 
is here, but from motives of expediency. I would 
not indulge even in an innocent amusement, that 
had assumed a doubtful shape in the imaginations of 
others. But still I would not be a slave to mere 
whims, which have no reasonableness and force. I 
admire an enlightened, sober, independence of opin- 
ion and action. 

I believe the opera, if introduced thoroughly into 
the United States, if performed in suitable edifices, 
and under suitable restrictions, would promote, indi- 
rectly at least, the cause of morals and good taste. 
It would attract to it a thousand young men, who 
now spend their evenings in grog r shops and at ga- 
ming-tables. The opera has its evils, but what human 
institution has not. If every thing is to be de- 
nounced which is not an unmixed good, then every 
thing emanating from man must go by the board. 
People will have amusements, it is a law of their so- 
cial being, and it is your duty as a friend to virtue to 
look out and encourage the most innocent. You 
may deride this counsel and persevere in trying to 
put human nature into a straight jacket; but you 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 203 

will never succeed, and if you could, you would find 
that jacket any thing but a garment of righteousness. 

Thursday, March 12. I accompanied last even- 
ing several of my wardroom companions to a Chilian 
tertulia. A broad flight of stairs took us to a large 
and brilliantly lighted saloon, where we were met by 
the lady of the mansion who gave us her hand, and 
welcomed us to Valparaiso. It would have been a 
little embarrassing to encounter the flash of so many 
eyes, but for the ease and tact of our accomplished 
hostess. Instead of taking us around the saloon and 
introducing us, amid a general suspension of conver- 
sation, to the company, which would have embar- 
rassed all parties, she went to talking with us, and in 
a few minutes managed to introduce us to several 
ladies, as unceremoniously as if there had been no 
design in it. This artless tact continued till we 
were introduced to every lady and gentleman present. 

All were at ease and full of talk, though some of 
us had but a limited range of Spanish at our com- 
mand. But a great deal of conversation may be 
made out of a few words, when the heart is glad. 
The ladies never corrected the wrong word, and 
affected to understand it just as well as if it had been 
the right one. Some of them attempted English 
with the amiable purpose, no doubt, of relieving our 
blunders by making as many of their own. 



204 DECK AND PORT. 



" Tis pleasing to be schooled in a strange tongue 

By female lips and eyes * * * 
They smile so when one's right, and when one's wrong 
They smile still more." 

I asked one of the ladies if she would gratify us 
with a piece of music ; she instantly took my arm to 
the piano, beckoned her sister to her side, and gave 
us a duett which called back my recollections of 
poor Malibran. What melodies were quenched for 
ever when that sweet singer died. Her strain still 
lingers in the hearts of thousands, but where is she ! 
As a bird from its bower, as a rainbow from its 
cloud, she has passed away. Spring will call back 
its little minstrels, and the summer sun rebuild its 
airy arch. But she, who charmed the world, will 
come back no more. Her melodious lips are sealed 
in silence, and the shadow of death is on her eye- 
lids. 

' Leaves have their time to fall. 

And flowers to wither at the north-wind's breath, 
And stars to set — but all, 
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O death !" 

But to return to the tertulia. The costume of the 
ladies differed but little from what you meet with at 
evening parties in the United States. The hair, 
which betrayed great care in its arrangement, was 
ornamented with natural flowers. The dress, gener- 
ally of a light airy material, had short sleeves, rather 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 205 

low in the neck, with a short, full skirt. The reason 
assigned for this is, that the wearer may be less em- 
barrassed in dancing, but, perhaps, the pride of a 
well-turned ankle is an additional motive. The gen- 
tlemen were more sedate than the ladies, but their 
conversation had not half the versatility. At twelve 
o'clock the tertulia broke up. The lady of the house 
gave us her hand at parting with a beuna noche. 

Friday, March 13. Went on shore to-day to take 
a ride. This has to be done either on the saddle, or 
in a vehicle resembling our chaise, but of much ruder 
construction. The latter is preferred for long dis- 
tances. One horse trots within the shafts, another at 
his left, on which the postillion is mounted, while 
half a dozen others accompany the vehicle to act as 
relays. If these give out, the lasso is resorted to, and 
some half-wild horse, who a few moments before 
snuffed the wind in freedom, is within the traces. 
The postillion seldom troubles himself with the ques- 
tion whether the animal has ever been thoroughly 
broken to the harness. The wilder, the more speed, 
and therefore all the better for his purpose. He is 
master of his business, and seemingly of every thing 
in nature that can conduce to its success. His 
driving is like that of Jehu. You expect every 
moment the old quill-wheel, in which you are em- 
Darked, will fly into a thousand pieces. But like the 

18 



206 DECK AND PORT. 



hurdle of the doomed, it still holds together, hurrying 
you, if not to the gallows, to the grave. 

If you take to the saddle you will probably find 
your stirrups of wood, resembling in shape and size 
the large beetle with which a New-England farmer 
splits his rails. Their weight is seemingly relieved 
by grotesque carving ; in the side is a sharp excava- 
tion, sufficiently deep to admit one-third of the foot. 
The saddle is made of raw hide, and a frame which 
an Indian's hatchet might have shaped. It rises up 
before and behind like a well-horned half-moon. 
The bridle has one recommendation, a tremendous 
bit. But with all this you are on a horse, wild as he 
may be, that is sure of foot. You can no more get 
a stumble out of him, were you so disposed, than Lu- 
cifer could a defection from duty out of Abdiel, or a 
whig a bank- vote out of a democrat. 

The police of Valparaiso, which once seldom pro- 
tected the innocent, or punished the guilty, is now 
unrivalled in efficiency. Its vigilance reaches your 
person and property through every hour of the day 
and night. You are safe even in spite of your own 
negligence. If, for instance, you leave your shop 
with the window unbolted, you will find the next 
morning a padlock on it, and one which you cannot 
remove without paying a fine of three dollars. If 
you dine out, tarry late at the wine, get tipsy, and 
can't find your way home, a watchman picks you up, 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 207 



puts you into a chaise, finds out by some means 
where you live, takes you to your door, and delivers 
you to your waiting wife, with the good-humored re- 
mark that you are a little indisposed. What a capi- 
tal arrangement for those who have more wine than 
wit in them ! 

If you wake up in the night, find one of your 
family sick, and want a physician, you have only to 
hand his name to the watchman near your door, who 
passes it to another, and he to another still, till it 
reaches its destination, and you soon have the phy- 
sician at your side. His prescription must perhaps 
be taken to an apothecary; it is handed to the 
watch, passed on, and in a few minutes back comes 
the medicament required. What bachelor might 
not venture to get married in Valparaiso ? 

Saturday, March 14. The governor of Valpa- 
raiso, with his suite, visited our ship this morning. 
He is a man of some sixty years of age, with no very 
brilliant qualities, but possesses sound sense. He 
expressed himself delighted with our frigate, exam- 
ined every part of her, and received, as he went over 
her side, the salute due to his rank. 

Our ship has been the constant scene of visits from 
the Chilians. A party has just left us who came all 
the way from Santiago. They make themselves 
quite at home on our decks. When the band strikes 



208 DECK AND PORT. 



up, they call for a waltz, or fandango, and commence 
dancing with just as much freedom as if they were on 
their own village green, beneath the light of the moon. 
On leaving they urge us to come and see them, prom- 
ising us horses to ride, music, and the smiles of a 
thousand glad eyes. Their invitations are full of 
sincerity and heart ; and for my own part I would 
much sooner avail myself of them, than the august 
condescension which should open to me the palace 
of a king. 

The inequalities of the feudal system, introduced 
from old Spain, still survive in Chili. The lands are 
owned by the privileged few, and their succession 
secured by the right of entail. An effort was made 
a few years since to break up this system, and dis- 
tribute the lands among the heirs, without reference 
to any advantages of primogeniture. But the great 
number of illegitimate children, who came in and 
urged their claims, rendered the measure a danger- 
ous experiment. It was waived for the time ; but 
unless republicanism here be a farce, it will come 
back again with augmented force. Freedom and 
equality are twin-born : they breathe the same air, 
and share the same destiny. Besides, there is no 
good reason why a natural child should not share in 
his father's estates. It is a hard case, indeed, if he 
must be made a beggar, merely because his parents 
have made him a child of sin. Let those who thus 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 209 

err pay the penalty. They have planted the tree, 
and now let them partake its fruit, — apples of Sodom 
though they be. 

The elective franchise involves no property quali- 
fication in Chili. All go to the ballot-box ; but few, 
however, deposite thoroughly independent votes. 
One portion is overawed by the will of their land- 
lords, another by the will of their priests. The ec- 
clesiastics have every thing at issue in the stability 
of the existing order of things. A revolution would 
result in a triumph of the Liberals, and a suppression 
of all monastic institutions. Even the connection 
of the church with the state could not long survive. 
The papal hierarchy would have to provide for its 
maintenance through voluntary contributions. 

The ecclesiastics therefore exert all the influence 
which their position gives them, to uphold the pres- 
ent government. They look to each man's vote, and 
follow it with a blessing or malediction, which throws 
its ominous shadow beyond this life. This ecclesi- 
astical power is the most fearful feature in the pres- 
ent condition of the Chilians. Instead of being a 
wall of defence, it is a wide magazine, laid under its 
foundations, with a train reaching to Rome. One 
spark from the Vatican, and Chili sinks in flame and 
blood ! 

Sunday, March 15. We had to-day at our ser- 

18* 



210 DECK AND PORT. 



vice a very large attendance from the shore. The 
weather was remarkably fine ; the awning was 
spread, and we assembled on the spar-deck. After 
prayers, we sung a hymn in Hamburg, with the band 
for an orchestra. The sermon turned on the condi- 
tion of the soul out of Christ : its guilt, its wretched- 
ness, its ruin. Plain and practical sermons are the 
only ones that do much good. When a preacher 
forgets the simplicity and meekness of his office, and 
throws himself, though in a blaze of eloquence, be- 
tween his hearers and the Cross, he is in a miserably 
false position. He may win perishing laurels to his 
fame, but not immortal souls to Christ. 

The clergy in Chili exert, through the confessional, 
an influence which reaches the most private transac- 
tions of life. Every communicant is required to 
confess at least once a year. A refusal to do it is 
followed by the severest pains and penalties which 
the church can inflict. Some two years since, a 
daughter of one of the most prominent members of 
the legislature of Chili was grossly insulted at the 
confessional. She told her mother, who, in grief and 
consternation, related the circumstance to her father. 
He excused her from going again to the confessional. 
The year rolled round, and she was summoned to a 
compliance ; the father peremptorily refused his as- 
sent. Three of the inferior officers of the church 
were dispatched to bring her by force. Her father 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 211 

planted himself, armed, on the door-sill of his house, 
and told them if they entered it would be at their 
peril. They retired and reported their ill-success to 
their superior. The next Sabbath she was publicly 
excommunicated, and her candle at the altar blown 
out, to signify that her hope of heaven was extin- 
guished. 

The father, indignant at the attempt to undermine 
the virtue of his daughter, and the cruel injustice 
done her in the act of excommunication, introduced 
a bill into the national legislature for abolishing en- 
tirely the confessional. It produced the most intense 
excitement ; the pulpits of Chili rang with denuncia- 
tion ; the archbishop dispatched a messenger to 
Rome for the Pope's anathema. Many husbands 
and fathers, whose wives and daughters had been in- 
sulted at the confessional, and who from motives of 
prudence had remained silent, now began to speak 
out. But a repugnance to innovation in ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs, and the combined influence of the clergy 
prevailed, and the contemplated law was defeated. 
But it still survives in the breast of its projector, and 
will yet speak out in thunder-tones. 

Instead of attacking the confessional, the domestic 
evils which it inflicts would perhaps be more thor- 
oughly remedied by abolishing the coerced celibacy 
of the clergy. This is the prime source of those im- 
moralities which have sapped virtue and overthrown 



212 DECK AND PORT. 



the peace of families. Its abolition would contribute 
alike to the virtue of the ecclesiastic, and the safety 
of the communicant. The best-informed writers on 
Chili, those whose observation has been the most 
thorough, agree in the fact that many of the clergy 
live in a state of the most shameful profligacy. These 
disclosures force upon you the painful conviction, 
that their illegitimate offspring are found in every 
circle in the community, and fill every grade of ec- 
clesiastical preferment. Abolish, then, the forced 
celibacy of the clergy. Blot out at once and forever 
this apology for crime. Human nature is sufficiently 
slippery even when it has no excuse for its lapses. 
In saying this, I intend no sectarian reproach. I 
would not confide to any religious persuasion the 
consequences of a forced law of celibacy. Our safe- 
ty lies not only in an upright conscience, but in free- 
dom from temptation. 

Monday, March 16. I have been passing an 
agreeable evening in the family of Mr. Hobson, our 
former consul at this port. The amenity and intelli- 
gence of Mrs. H. lend an unfailing charm to her 
conversation. Her daughters have been educated 
with great care, and are adorned with many intellec- 
tual and social accomplishments. It is singular what 
encounters will occur in one's travels. I met here a 
lady whom I last saw in the Naval Asylum at Phila- 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 213 

delphia, and who had come out there to hear one of 
my poor sermons. This was a year since. She is 
now here, and the wife of one of the most enterpri- 
sing merchants in Valparaiso. 

I dined to-day with William Ward, Esq., an Ameri- 
can gentleman, who is the senior partner in one of 
the largest mercantile houses here. His ample 
mansion and costly furniture are in keeping with the 
taste and liberality displayed at his table. I met 
there Mr. Barton, another American gentleman, who 
is engaged in surveying the route of a contemplated 
railroad between Valparaiso and Santiago. I passed 
the morning with the Rev. Mr. Trumbull, from the 
United States. He is out here under the patronage of 
the Foreign Evangelical Society. His labors as yet 
have been confined mostly to seamen ; but he has every 
prospect of having within a short time a congregation 
on land. Mr. Dorr, our consul, has, with a praise- 
worthy spirit, interested himself in the objects of his 
mission ; and other Americans have pledged their 
aid. Such are the stars of hope which are yet to 
throw their rays through the extremities of Chili. 

I visited this afternoon the Protestant burial-ground, 
which occupies a portion of one of the hills which 
overlook our anchorage. The situation has been 
selected with good judgment, and the ground evinces 
taste and propriety in the arrangement. Here rest 
many sailors far away from their native shores. A 



214 DECK AND PORT. 



humble slab, erected by their messmates, gives you 
their names and that of the ship to which they were 
attached ; and sometimes a nautical epitaph, like the 
following : 

" Here lies the rigging, spars, and hull 
Of sailing-master David Mull." 

This to a landsman seems trifling with our poor 
mortality ; not so to the sailor. His technicalities have 
with him a meaning and a force which, in his judg- 
ment, more than sanction their use on the most 
grave and melancholy occasions. He would pray 
in this dialect even were life's taper flickering in the 
socket, or his soul trembling on the verge of despair. 

In the Catholic burial-ground, which adjoins the 
Protestant, stands the beautiful monument of Por- 
tales. The genius of History is recording his glorious 
deeds, Grief lamenting his early doom, and Hope 
pointing to a fruition in the skies. Near this monu- 
ment I encountered a youthful mother in weeds, 
leading her little orphan boy. She carried a bunch 
of flowers in her hand, and as she came near a new- 
made grave, kneeled down at its head, and planted 
them there. Her child kissed them, but when she 
attempted it her silent tears fell fast on their tender 
leaves. A bird lit on the tree, which cast its 
shadows on the grave, and poured a wild sweet 
strain as if to wean the mourner from her grief; but 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 215 

she heeded it not. Her child turned and listened ; 
her eye fell on his ; she heard the bird. Nature 
triumphs over bereavements through those we love 
and who stilt survive. 

Tuesday, March 17. The Indian mother still ad- 
heres to the primitive method of carrying her child 
Instead of supporting it in her arms, with the un 
healthful inclination of person which a burden there 
will always induce, she tosses it on her back, into the 
bunt of her shawl, and walks off erect as the Indian's 
tree, which stood up so straight it leaned backward. 




When hunger overtakes it she will feel a slight pull 
on one of the long braids in which her hair fails over 
its form ; and when she takes it out of this travelling 
cradle to nurse it, there is something new and fresh 
in its first look : true, it has not been out of her sight 



216 DECK AND PORT. 



for more than an hour, but this with a mother is a 
long time. But her heart is now running over with 
happiness, 

So deep and vital is the joy 

That thrills a mother's breast, 
Clasping her infant, blue-eyed boy 

From out his cradled rest. 

Many attempts have been made to introduce the 
Bible into Chili. Our countryman, Mr. Wheelwright, 
who now has a flourishing school in Valparaiso, suc- 
ceeded in distributing a number of copies in the 
Spanish language among the people of Quillota. But 
the priests forbade their being read, and doomed them 
to the flames. They were brought out and burnt in 
presence of the assembled multitude. They were 
without note or comment, and left the sectarian big- 
otry, that decreed the sacrilegious act, without an 
apology. What would my venerable friend, Bishop 
Hughes, say were the Protestants of New York to 
collect his Douay Bibles and burn them in the Park ? 
Would that, my dear Bishop, be freedom of con- 
science ? 

The population of Chili is estimated at about a mil- 
lion and a half. Her commerce is steadily on the 
increase. Her silver and copper mines richly repay 
the labor bestowed in working them. Her southern 
plains yield an abundance of the finest wheat. Her 



SKETCHES OF VALPARAISO. 217 

' •» 

people in the mass are hardy, frugal, and ardent lov- 
ers of freedom. The course of education, under her 
new constitution, is receiving fresh impulses, and 
gradually emerging into popular favor and national 
importance. Her public debt amounts to about ten 
millions of dollars, which is owned mostly in Eng- 
land. Her military establishment, which has bur- 
dened her treasury, and sometimes perilled her peace, 
is melting away under her civil institutions. 

In breaking the Spanish yoke, and establishing her 
independence, she has had to pass through a fiery 
ordeal. The virtues that could achieve so much, 
will yet win farther triumphs. No nation or state 
ever rose at once from vassalage and ignorance to 
freedom and intelligence. She may emerge into dis- 
order, but that will be more tolerable than the des- 
potism from which she has escaped. To meet the 
consequences of a revolution, to restore order where 
it has been broken up, to consolidate the elements of 
national existence, and settle them on a new and per- 
manent basis, requires all the time which this republic 
has enjoyed since she proclaimed her independence. 
There is nothing in the present condition of Chili 
which should fill the advocates of free institutions 
with distrust. She has clouds on her sky, but most 
of them are skeletons from which the storm has long 
since passed. 

But I have no space for a disquisition on Chili. A 



218 



DECK AND PORT. 



labored essay is beyond the scope and purpose of this 
diary. I have only time to wave my adieu to 

VALPARAISO. 

Sweet "Valparaiso — fare thee "well ! 

Thy steep romantic shore, 
And toppling crags, where wildly dwell 

The echoes, which thy billows pour 
As o'er the rocks their anthems swell — 

Shall greet my pilgrim steps no more. 
"When they whose tread is on thy steep, 

Have down to death's dim chambers gone, 
"Where harp and lute in silence sleep, 

Thy sweet sea-dirge will still roll on. 




219 



CHAPTER VII. 

PASSAGE PROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 

FLARE UP OF THE PACIFIC. SONGS OF SEAMEN. SAILORS ON SHORE. LOSS 

OF THE SAMSON OF OUR SHIP. THE SETTING SUN AT SEA. OUR ASTOR- 

HOUSE SAILOR. THE MAD POET OF THE CREW. LAND HO ! ASPECT OF 

CALLAO. APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES. THE BURIAL ISLE. ^ 

" Our pennant glitters in the breeze, 

Our home is on the sea : 
Where wind may blow, or billow flow, 

No limits to the free : 
No limits to the free, my boys, 

Let wind and wave waft on, 
The boundless world of waters is, 

My merry men, our own." 

Wednesday, March 18. We tripped our anchors 
this morning and stood out to sea from the bay of 
Valparaiso. While getting under way, a boat from 
the British ship Daphne came alongside with dis- 
patches for Admiral Seymour, in command of the 
Collingwood, on the coast of California. No sooner 
were these received, and orders given to make sail, 
than three other boats were seen starting from the 
shore at the top of their speed. Our ship was hove 
to till they came up. Two of them had communica- 
tions to merchants in Callao. The third had in hei 
two of our runaway sailors, who had been picked up 
by the police, and whom we were very sorry to see 



220 DECK AND PORT. 



again ; for they were notoriously the two most worth- 
less fellows on board. But we were not, it seems, to 
get rid of them in this way. So true is it that a bad 
penny always comes back. 

Thursday, March 19. Before coming into the Pa- 
cific, our imaginations were filled with dreams of its 
majestic tranquillity. But if the exhibition it made 
of itself last night be a fair specimen of its charac- 
ter, it is a living libel on its own name. It flared up 
like an enraged maniac, and stove in our cabin win- 
dows, which even Cape Horn had spared. Its rage 
seemed wholly unprovoked ; for the sky was almost 
free of clouds, and even the few which did darken its 
face, moved on lazily as those in which the winds 
have fallen asleep. The moon looked down on the 
uproar in perfect calmness. Her light fell on the 
crest of the wave, soft as dew on the death-foam of 
the savage. 

One of our boys ran away at Valparaiso. He had 
but just recovered from the effects of a fall down the 
main-hatch. He probably thought the best method 
of escaping the chances of another fall, would be to 
give the hatch the widest berth possible. But the 
poor lad will find worse hatches on land than he ever 
yet stumbled through at sea. Here he broke only a 
limb, but there he may break his peace of conscience, 
and his hope of heaven. But sailors are of all beings 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 221 

in the world the most thoughtless. The monitions 
of the future are lost in the impulses of the present. 
They have been known, for some temporary gratifi- 
cation, to run from a ship with two years pay due 
them, and to forfeit the whole by that act of folly. 
This running commences in rum and ends in ruin. 

Friday, March 20. We have the wind directly 
aft. Our fore studding-sails are out like the wings 
of a bird on the breast of a gale. We have run 
within the last two days four hundred and forty 
miles. This is good sailing considering we have six 
months' provision on board, and lie consequently too 
deep for the greatest speed. The air is balmy, and 
the songs of our sailors, at sunset, rose exultingly 
into its blue depths. A sailor always sings with 
heart. His music rolls out like a dashing stream 
from its mountain source. It is never gay; it al- 
ways has a deep vein of melancholy. If a few more 
lively notes mingle with the strain, they come only 
at intervals, like flakes of moonlight between the 
cypress shadows which mantle the marbles of the 
dead. 

He is a gay being when he gets upon shore ; but 
he is then no longer on his own element. Give him 
a day's liberty, and he will commit more follies than 
he would in six months at sea. If he charters a 
hack, he will ride out on the box with the driver and 
19* 



222 DECK AND PORT. 



make the hold, as he terms the interior, welcome to 
any one who may be disposed to use it. If he hires 
a horse, he will ride him at his utmost speed, though 
he knows no more than you do where he shall bring 
up. He goes to church on the Sabbath, and if no 
one offers him a seat, brings in a huge billet of wood, 
or a stone, and moors ship in the middle of the aisle. 
He sits there grave as a deacon, never once nods 
during the sermon, and when the contribution box 
comes along for sending missionaries to the heathen, 
drops in the last dollar which his fiddler has left him. 

Saturday, March 21. We lost at Valparaiso the 
Samson of our ship. He was from Bremen, and of 
German extraction. He stood seven feet in his 
stockings. His arm was as large as the leg of an 
ordinary man. He could carry a water tank, which 
any two others among the crew could cnly lift. He 
went with the rest upon shore on liberty, fell in with 
a few of his countrymen, drank too freely, and stayed 
beyond his time. 

He would have returned on board, but he shrunk 
from the disgrace of corporal punishment. He had 
the finest sensibilities, and looked upon a blow, in- 
flicted in the shape of a chastisement, as a brand of 
indelible infamy. To escape this he had no resource, 
as he supposed, but to conceal himself till after our 
ship should sail. Every effort was made to recover 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 223 

him, but without success. His conduct had been 
unexceptionable. He had never fallen under cen- 
sure. His fidelity to duty had won the regard and 
confidence of all. His loss was the more regretted 
as it flowed from a misapprehension on his part. 
He would not have been punished had he returned 
on board. His next liberty day might have been 
withheld, and that would have been all. 

He would have been a tower of strength in an 
engagement. He could have wielded a sky-sail yard 
as a boarding-pike. But in the centre of all these 
giant energies gushed a fountain warm and fresh as 
that in the heart of a child. He carried with him 
his mother's picture, and hung over it with that fond- 
ness which absence cannot wean or age chill. Keep 
that picture, thou noble tar ! all is not lost while the 
love of that remains. 

Sunday, March 22. The sky covered with a soft 
haze, the air balmy, our ship moving four and five 
knots ; divine service at 11 o'clock. The subject of 
the discourse, the power of evil habit ; the progress 
of crime traced ; its incipient insignificance, its tre- 
mendous results ; the stealing, an apple leading to 
highway robbery ; an irreverent word paving the 
way to profaneness ; a play of chance for amuse- 
ment leading to the hazards of the gaming table ; 
the social glass ending at last in delirium and death. 



224 DECK AND PORT. 



But a future state revealing the more full effects of 
an evil habit. Here the traces of guilt dimly appa- 
rent on the man, there deep and indelible on his soul; 
here an outcast from the community, there an out- 
cast from heaven ; here suffering the loss of a tran- 
sient temporal good, there an immortality of bliss. 
God grant these admonitions may arrest some poor 
sailor in his career of folly and ruin. 

Monday, March 23. The wind has been faint and 
directly aft through the day ; still we have made a 
hundred miles in the last twenty-four hours. We 
have just had a splendid sunset. The whole western 
horizon was a sea of cloud and flame. 

The setting sun is beautiful at sea, 

And throws a richer splendor on the eye 

Than when on land beheld ; the cause may be 
A brighter, bolder amplitude of sky. 

And then the fathomless immensity 

Of waters, and the twilight clouds, which lie 

Along the west, and which at sea appear 

As islands in a golden atmosphere. 

But then there follows this resplendent sight 
An hour of deeper beauty to the shore ; 

The glowing west has darkened into night, 
The stars are out, and from their cisterns pour 

On tree and tower a flood of mellow light, 

Through which the crags in sheeted silver soar ; 

"While cavemed cliffs the billows' dirge prolong, 

And roll it back a murmuring tide of song. 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 225 

And this is rapture — thus alone to stray- 
Along the moon-lit shore, and hear each wave 

Repeat its dying anthem round the bay, 
Or rush exulting down some sparry cave 

With death-defiant roar ; though on its way, 
With all its swelling peans, to the grave. 

And then 'tis hushed again, except the song 

Of breaking billows, winch the cliffs prolong. 

Oh, you may talk of banquetings and balls — 
Of wit and merriment at masquerade — 

Of revels held in old baronial halls — 
Or music murmured in the serenade : 

Give me the lay of distant waterfalls, 

The song of May birds in the forest shade, 

And that deep anthem, winch the choiring waves 

Of ocean roll from her melodious caves. 

Tuesday, March 24. What ups and downs there 
are on board a man-of-war ! The young Englishman 
who left the elegancies of the Astor House, and ship- 
ped as a common sailor on board our frigate, contin- 
ued to win upon the friendship of the crew. He was 
hail fellow well met with the whole. He was always 
at his post, and prompt and cheerful in duty. No 
weather ever sent him below, when it was his watch 
on deck. He struck out so strongly, that he soon 
gained a position aloft, and had his eye on being 
captain of the maintop. 

But on reaching Valparaiso his nomde guerre took 
flight. He was recognised as the son of a wealthy 



226 DECK AND PORT. 



broker in Manchester, England ; and the important 
intelligence had just reached here that his uncle, re- 
cently deceased, had left him twenty thousand pounds. 
The correctness of this intelligence was ascertained 
from sources which left no doubt ; and still he hesi- 
tated about applying for his discharge, and declared 
he had never been so happy as since he turned sailor. 
He brought on board a letter of credit on a large 
banking-house in New York, but had never availed 
himself of it. He at last yielded to the importuni- 
ties of his friends at Valparaiso, and applied for his 
discharge, which Captain Du Pont, with the sanc- 
tion of our commodore, ordered to be made out. 
He shook hands with his shipmates, wished them stiff 
breezes and snug harbors, and in his tarpaulin and 
roundabout, left his station on the main-yard for a 
London coach. 

Wednesday, March 25. We have among our 
crew a youth who is touched with insanity. The 
hallucination takes every variety of shape, and every 
degree of force. A few days since he fancied that he 
had but one friend on board, and wanted a lantern at 
noon, with which to look him up, To-day his con- 
viction has been that he shall not see the sun rise 
again ? As the glorious orb went down, he stationed 
himself on the steps of the accommodation-ladder to 
take his farewell look. There was as much poetry 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 227 

in his fine wild features as in the tragical idea that 
had brought him there. He poured his mournful 
adieu to the sun in the lines of Manfred, which 
seemed more his own than the guilty misanthrope's 
who uttered them : 

" Thou material God ! 
And representative of the Unknown — 
Who chose thee for his shadow. Thou chief star ! 
Sire of the seasons ! monarch of the climes, 
And those who dwell in them ! for near or far, 
Our inborn spirits have a tint of thee, 
Even as our outward aspects ; — thou dost rise 
And set in glory. Fare thee well ! 
I ne'er shall see thee more. As my first glance 
Of love and wonder was for thee, then take 
My latest look : thou wilt not beam on one 
To whom the gifts of life and warmth have been 
Of a more fatal nature. He is gone !" 

Thursday, March 26. We discovered a sail this 
afternoon on our starboard-bow, and stood down for 
her. As our noble ship, with her heavy batteries 
frowning death, neared her, she run up the American 
ensign at her peak. We captured her in mimic war. 
She proved to be the Balaena, a whale-ship, or, as our 
sailors term it, a spouter, from New Bedford. She 
had been out five months. She had two men at her 
main, two at her fore, and one at her mizen top, look- 
ing out for whales. Success to them. I would as 
soon seek a tree-top in a thunder-storm. The mimic 



228 DECK AND PORT. 



fight took place after she had shown her colors, and 
was gone through with merely to accustom our men 
to some of the evolutions of a real engagement. 

Our crew is composed in too great a proportion of 
young men. They have not that solidity and strength 
of muscle which our heavy guns require. But they 
are very active, and would pour themselves, as board- 
ers, in a living tide on the enemy. Our best crews 
are those enlisted after war has been declared. 
Thousands who now seek our civil marine, would in 
that event rush to our armed decks. 

The Balsena must have been christened by some 
lady of New Bedford who has a touch of Latinity 
about her. The name, it is true, signifies a whale, 
but no vulgar vandal spouter, but an elegant Roman 
balaena — such as might have danced on the harp- 
strings of a Lucretius, or streamed in the insignia of 
Cleopatra's barge, as it rocked on the amber waves 
of Cydnus, and threw back the sun's rays from its 
decks of burnished gold. Give me that lady who 
can throw a classic charm around a whale-ship. A 
cabbage in her hands would soon take the colors and 
perfume of the rose. 

Friday, March 27. Our slumbers were broken 
this morning by the cry of land ho ! from the watch 
in the fore-top. We had been under shortened sail 
through the night for fear of shooting too far ahead. 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 229 

But we made an excellent landfall. As day glim- 
mered, the barren isle of San Lorenzo loomed into 
the light on our starboard bow. It was sufficiently 
near to throw its jagged outline full on the eye. 

The sea breeze soon sprung up, when we made 
sail, and doubling the northern extremity of San Lo- 
renzo, the harbor of Callao opened upon us. We 
moved up its ample expanse with our topgallant sails 
set, and came to in handsome style with our star- 
board anchor. We were welcomed by clouds of 
gulls and pelicans, which floated around our ship 
and cast the sea into shadow. Had they possessed 
anthropophagous propensities, we might have felt 
some solicitude for our personal safety. 

Our sails were hardly clued down when our vice- 
consul, Mr. Johnson, came on board. Our first in- 
quiry was for letters from home. Deep was our dis- 
appointment when told there were none. Almost six 
months from the United States and not a single mail 
yet, — not even a straggling letter ! Think of that, 
ye who cannot leave your homes for a week without 
a letter each day. We may have children born 
without knowing it, and find them, on our return, 
some three years old. It is no wonder they timidly 
stare at their strange fathers, and take refuge in their 
mothers' arms. 

Saturday, March 28. Callao falls immeasurably 
20 



230 DECK AND PORT. 



short of the picture which my imagination had 
painted. It is a collection of low, dingy dwellings, 
occupying the rippling verge of a vast sand-plain. 
The only beings which give to it an air of life are 
buzzards ; or here and there a fisherman hawking 
the trophies of his hook ; or an Indian woman on a 
donkey, riding straddle. 

We encountered on reaching the landing two im- 
mense piles of wheat, which had been shipped from 
Chili. Each pile must have had in it not less than 
twenty thousand bushels. Neither had any cover- 
ing, and needed none, as it never at this season rains 
or snows here. Nature allows man to be as lazy as 
possible, and he seems to have availed himself of the 
privilege to the utmost extent. Even the dog which 
slumbers on the trottoir will sooner hazard your 
heel than break his dreams. The children run half 
naked ; and the women, too indolent to hook the tops 
of their dresses, throw a loose shawl over their 
shoulders, and nurse their infants as publicly as they 
would take out a pocket-handkerchief. 

The fort, a place of great strength in its day, has 
been dismantled. It had become the rallying point 
of the disaffected. A few revolutionists could here 
set the arms of the whole republic at defiance. The 
government, standing in greater dread of domestic 
than foreign foes, issued a decree for its destruction. 
The government must be weak indeed, which is 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 231 

obliged to consult its safety in the destruction of the 
defences of its territory. 

Sunday, March 29. We are lying in the bay of 
a Roman Catholic country where no place of wor- 
ship is allowed to Protestants. There is not a hall 
or chapel within the limits of Peru where they who 
differ from the papal see can assemble on the Sab- 
bath. Repeated efforts have been made to obtain 
permission to erect such a place, but as yet without 
success. The archbishop of Lima, who gets his in- 
structions from Rome, has set his face against it, 
and the government is at present too weak, were it 
so disposed, to set his ecclesiastical authority at de- 
fiance. 

It would not be amiss for some of our Catholic 
bishops to come here and preach up a little tolera- 
tion to their brethren ; and, before they go away, I 
wish they would pass over to the barren isle of San 
Lorenzo. On this bleak, herbless rock, which is fre- 
quented only by pelicans and vultures, they will find 
the graves of nearly all the Protestants who have 
died* in Peru for centuries past. Not one of those 
who lie here could have procured himself a grave on 
the mainland. 

But we have one resource on board ship which no 
proscription can reach. We carry our chapel with 
us on the open deck. Our capstan is a pulpit which 
has never been overawed. We have our worship 



232 DECK AND PORT. 



on the Sabbath, in whatever port we may lie, with- 
out consulting the authorities on shore. Our privi- 
lege is wide as the ocean, and the shores which it 
laves. Would it were so with every denomination 
of Christians. The faggot which bigotry kindles 
may burn the recusant first, but is pretty sure in the 
end to consume those who light it. 

Our forefathers were driven out of the old world 
by the intolerance of an arbitrary authority, attempt- 
ing to enthrone itself on the human conscience. I 
seem to stand once more beneath the wintry trees 
which threw their bleak shadows on the rock where 
they first knelt, in their wild inhospitable home. 
Their memory stands apart, as a thing by itself, sa- 
cred and imperishable in the reverence and love of 
millions. Hail to 

THE PILGRIM FATHERS. 

They were men of giant soul, 

Men of faith and deeds sublime ; 
Men whose acts will reach their goal 

In the mighty depths of time. 

They resigned, at God's behest, 

Kindred, home, their fathers' graves — 

Pilgrims o'er the ocean's crest, 
Mid the thunder of its waves. 

Here — where pathless forests frowned, 
Wailing torrents rolled their foam, 



PASSAGE FROM VALPARAISO TO CALLAO. 233 

Wolves and wild-men prowled around — 
Rose their altars and their home. 

What to them were stately shrines, 

Gorgeous dome, or towering spire ? 
'Neath their sturdy oaks and pines 

Rose their anthems, winged with fire 1 

When oppression reached the coast, 

With the tyrant's purpose flushed, 
They to peril's deadliest post 

For their God and country rushed. 

As the steep volcano throws 

From its burning breast the rock, 
They o'erthrew their columned foes, 

In the battle's fiery shock. 

All that consecrates their fame, 

All that sanctifies our hearth, 
All that freedom here can claim ; 

In their noble minds had birth. 

By their dead, on Bunker's steep ! 

By their bones, in Monmouth's plains 
We their faith and trust will keep, 

While their blood rolls in our veins ! 

Thou who heard'st the Pilgrim's prayer — 

Nerved him for the doubtful field — 
Made his sacred cause thy care, 

O'er us cast thy mighty shield ! 
20* 



234 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SKETCHES OP LIMA. 

incidents of the eoad. the grand plaza. shops and houses. the 

saya y mantg. american lady. mixture of races. demeanor of 

girls and boys. procession on palm sunday. convent of the 

franciscans. — doctors of lima. good friday. the last supper. — • 

pilate's court. — garden of gethsemane. — close of lent. — jubila- 
tions. CLIMATE. AN OFFICER IN PRISON. LAWYERS. THE INDIAN'S 

EYRIE. THE LOTTERY. BULL-FIGHT. 

In Lima's streets a stranger stood, 

Who wrapp'd his thoughts about him 
So close, that they who watched his mood, 

But deemed the place without him. 

Monday, March 30. We were off this morning 
at an early hour for Lima. The distance is only 
seven miles, and is travelled by a line of omnibuses, 
drawn by six horses, three abreast. Our companions 
were lieutenants S. and L. of the Congress, two 
Peruvian officers, a Spanish lady with a lapdog, a 
Creole girl smoking a cigar, and a quadroon in white- 
kid slippers. 

We passed on the right an obelisk surmounted by 
a cross, designating the spot to which the sea was 
thrown, in the great earthquake of 1746. A little 
further on we passed the neglected dwellings of Bel- 
lavista, projected as the new Callao, and built further 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 235 

inland, that it might escape the terrible fate of its 
predecessor. But fear soon yielded to the sugges- 
tions of commercial convenience, and Callao went 
back again to the strand of the sea. 

After dragging along for nearly an hour, with our 
old vehicle buried to the axle in sand, we reached 
the halfway station, which consists of a dilapidated 
church and a grog-shop. In the ruined turrets of the 
one the martins had built their procreant nests ; at 
the bar of the other stood a bare-headed monk, soli- 
citing the change which the glass of toddy might 
leave. His large feet were protected by sandals, and 
his Roman nose was so red that one of the passen- 
gers got out a cigar. 

Having breathed our steeds, we started again, 
when a fierce quarrel arose between the Spanish 
lady and her poodle. The little fellow had wet her 
pocket-handkerchief, and had his ears soundly boxed 
for the indiscretion. The quadroon took the part of 
the poodle, and the Creole girl smoked on. We now 
passed several huge tumuli — the burial mounds of 
the aborigines. The heroic virtues which they en- 
tomb have perished. No Homer has swept his lyre 
in their giant shadows. The road, as we approached 
the city, presented on either side double rows of pop- 
lars, beneath which the Limanians take their twilight 
promenade. But at this time only a few donkeys 
were winding their way through them, buried up in 



236 DECK AND PORT. 



grass, which they were taking to market. You saw 
only the burden ; the animal was concealed under 
it, like a tortoise beneath its shell, or a mouse under 
a crow's nest. 

We found at the gate a sentry posted with as 
much solemnity as if the old bastion could still thun- 
der out its defiance. We rattled up a broad street 
into the heart of the city, where we were emptied 
from our crazy coach into an office surrounded by 
boys, who vociferously claimed the privilege of trans- 
porting our baggage. The urchins had hold of it 
before we could even tell them where we were go- 
ing. The lady with her repentant poodle, and the 
Creole with her cigar, went their way, and we brought 
up at Morin's hotel on the grand plaza. The keeper 
met us in the hall, welcomed us to Lima, and allotted 
us our apartments. Here we were then at last in 
the " city of kings," and in the most sumptuous hotel 
which its ambition and luxury could furnish. What 
a transition from the storms, the sleet, and whales 
off Cape Horn ! 

Tuesday, March 31. The heart of Lima is occu- 
pied by a great public square, in the centre of which 
stands a fountain, the showering waters of which fall 
into a wide marble basin. Beneath the verandas 
which open on this square are the fancy shops of the 
city, while the Cathedral towers over all in its solemn 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 237 



magnificence. Around the fountain, instead of mar- 
ble statues, you find donkeys, waiting to have the 
tanks, which are swung across their little pack-sad- 
dles, filled with water. As soon as this has been 
done, off they start on their destination, without 
leader or rein. For these two kegs of water the 
owner gets a real, or twelve and a half cents. Thus 
is Lima supplied with water ; when it might be con- 
ducted by pipes through every street of the city. 

In the shops, which line three sides of the grand 
square, are found almost all the elegant products of 
art and mechanical ingenuity. The long colonnades 
which protect them from the sun, are paved with 
smooth pebbles, and are sufficiently wide for several 
persons to walk abreast. Here you encounter, at all 
hours of the day, the indolent and the active, the 
grave and the gay of Lima. A more motley crowd 
in color and costume cannot well be conceived. The 
language of almost every nation on the globe throws 
its peculiar accents on the ear. The poorest have 
on them generally some article of luxury or refine- 
ment. The Spanish lady is seen in her saya y man- 
to ; the mestizoe in her gayly-figured shawl, and the 
quadroon in her white-kid slippers. 

Wednesday, April 1. Since the great earthquake 
of 1746, the houses in Lima have generally been 
confined to one story. A few families of wealth, 



238 DECK AND PORT. 



who consulted their pride more than their personal 
safety, have run their dwellings a little higher. The 
walls are uniformly of sun-baked brick, and the roofs 
flat. The more pretending houses have an open 
court between the heavy gate and the main building. 
The front of the dwelling, with its fresco paintings, 
and gilded window-frames, glimmering through the 
evergreens which fill the court, has a fine effect; 
every thing looks inviting and cool, well suited to 
the climate — but a dash of snow would ruin its attrac- 
tions. 

Almost every house betrays the Moorish origin of 
its architecture in its veranda. This appendage re- 
sembles a long, capacious bird-cage, fastened to the 
wall ; it is composed of lattice-work, and is painted 
green. Here the inmates can observe the passing 
crowd without being themselves seen. But all the 
buildings in Lima have about them the evidences of 
decay. Many of the mansions of the rich have 
passed into the hands of foreign merchants, and are 
used as counting-houses ; while others have been 
converted into hotels and restaurants. Many fami- 
lies of distinction, after the revolution, returned to 
Spain ; and not a few of those who remain are slow- 
ly exhausting the remnants of their once splendid 
fortunes. A Spaniard with the most diluted drop of 
noble blood in his veins, will about as soon starve as 
work. He regards labor as a degradation. 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 239 

Thursday, April 2. The novelty in costume, 
which first strikes the stranger in Lima, is the saya 
y manto of the ladies. At a distance this dress 
looks like two petticoats ; the one hanging down 
where all petticoats should hang, and the other drawn 




up over the head, as if lifted by a little whirlwind in 
mischief. But the lower garment proves to be a rich 
silk skirt, so plaited and arranged as to betray the 
swelling outline of the person and fall in wooing 
drapery around the limbs, while the upper one com- 
bines the advantages of the hood and mantle. It is 
fastened at the bottom within the band of the skirt, 
and falls over this cincture in a flowing wreath; 
while the top is gathered over the head and face, and 
so held by the hand within as to expose but one eye. 



240 DECK AND PORT. 



The disguise is complete ; no husband could recog- 
nise his own wife in such a dress. 

The apology attempted for this dress is, that it en- 
ables a lady to go out in the morning, to mass or 
shopping, before she has made her toilet. The ob- 
jections to it lie in the facilities which it lends to 
purposes of a very different character. It veils a love 
intrigue from all but the guilty. The jealous care of 
the husband, and the sleepless vigilance of the du- 
enna, are alike baffled by its impenetrable folds. 
With the young it often paves the way to ruin and 
a life of crime. No virtuous community would tol- 
erate its presence for a moment. It has been relin- 
quished by some of the better families in Lima, and 
was once put under the ban of a legislative statute ; 
but it still survives, and is still in extensive use. The 
Evil One, could such a thing be, might drop tears 
over its fall. 

How the heart turns from such a picture as this, 
to that of one whose breathing features throw at 
this moment their unveiled sweetness on my eye. 
Born in other climes, she blooms here in all her na- 
tive modesty and grace. There is an air about «her, 
a delicacy, and a heart that speak the truthfulness of 
her nature, and her freedom from those affectations 
which vanity and a false taste induce. My Ariel, 
who loves these qualities in woman, has thrown into 
a few simple stanzas a faint outline of the original. 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 241 



THE AMERICAN LADY. 

She moves among us, but apart 

From folly's empty din ; 
The smile that lights her silent heart 

Flows from a fount within. 

The incense of the flatterer's tongue, 

Which each in turn may share, 
She lightly deems as bubbles flung 

Upon the empty air. 

And when a flash of anger's force 

"Would light resentment's flame, 
She only pities more the source 

From which the menace came. 

There's not a throb which sorrow brings, 

Or sigh of the oppress'd, 
But pours its pulses o'er the strings 

Which tremble in her breast. 

There's not a smile which hope bestows, 

Or light in memory's dream, 
But o'er her changing aspect throws 

Its warm reflected beam. 

Her bright thoughts greet us as the rays 

Of some sweet star at even, 
Seen o'er the twilight's misty haze, 

Climbing the verge of heaven. 

Friday, April 3. Slavery is near its extinction in 
Peru. No one can be born a slave under its new 
21 



242 DECK AND PORT. 



constitution, and the introduction of slaves from 
other provinces or states is prohibited under penal- 
ties which involve a loss of citizenship for life. Any 
slave can obtain his freedom for a few hundred dol- 
lars, or by taking refuge among the Indians who in- 
habit the glens of the Cordilleras. It is unlawful for 
any master to strike his slaves. If they misbehave, 
he can increase their task, but cannot inflict corporal 
chastisement. 

Nothing puzzles the stranger here so much as the 
singular mixture of races. The Spaniard, the In- 
dian, and the African run together like the hues of 
the dying dolphin. It is impossible to tell where one 
color ceases and the other begins. Even in the same 
family, complexions frequently differ wide enough to 
embrace both extremes. The African in other coun- 
tries can be traced ; but here, after a few genera- 
tions, he becomes so bleached by the climate that 
you lose sight of his origin. Even his hair, that 
almost infallible indication, straightens out into the 
texture of the European's. Add to this the results 
of intermarriage, and you may well be in doubt 
where to class him. 

Some of the best-looking females in Lima are of 
this description. They resemble in hue and form 
the Circassian, and would be regarded at Constanti- 
nople as extremely beautiful. .. They are soft and en- 
gaging in their manners, amiable in their dispositions, 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 243 

excel in music, and are often married to gentlemen 
of distinction and wealth. 

Saturday, April 4. The college boys in Lima 
look like little military captains. They strut about 
in cocked hats and laced coats ; the sword only is 
wanting. The last thing with which you would 
associate them would be a severe ancient classic. 
You would as soon look for Greek among the mata- 
dores at a bull-fight. Peru will produce no Porson 
while these cocked hats and gilt buttons continue in 
vogue among the boys. 




But all the little boys belonging to families of note 
are dressed here like gentlemen. Your first impres- 
sion would be, that you had arrived among a race of 
Lilliputians. But a closer observation shows you 
that these little well-dressed gentlemen are infantines, 
let loose from their nurses' arms. They are but little 
more than knee-high ; but wear, with singular gravi- 
ty, their black beaver hats and long-tailed coats. 

The same holds true of the little miss of eight and 



244 DECK AND PORT. 



nine. Her hair, of singular length for that of a 
child, instead of falling in ringlets or plaits, is done 
up with a comb like that of her mother's. Her silk 
dress, with its close bodice, depends gravely to the 
instep ; her mantilla falls down her shoulders with 
the precision of that of a nun ; while her hands and 
arms are adjusted with the utmost composure. Her 
whole air is that of a lady over whom some thirty 
years have passed, and she expects you to address 
her in the same respectful terms. She is the pocket- 
edition of a precise spinster. 

Sunday, April 5. This being Palm Sunday, all 
Lima turned out to witness a procession intended to 
convey an idea of the last entrance of our Saviour 
into Jerusalem. On a platform, borne forward on 
the shoulders of six stout men, stood a donkey, on 
which a wax figure was mounted, while the staging 
was strewn with leaves of the palm. As it passed, 
hosannas broke from the lips of the spectators. 

On the staging which followed this, stood the Vir- 
gin, in glowing wax. She wore a sparkling diadem, 
and a robe of purple velvet, gorgeously inwoven 
with gold, and flowing off into a magnificent train, 
supported by angels. As she passed, the crowd fell 
on their knees and whispered their Ave Marias, 
while the swinging censers of the priests sent up 
their curling cloud of homage. 






SKETCHES OF LIMA. 245 

The third and last staging supported a tree, high 
in the limbs of which clung a little wax cherub, in- 
tended to represent Zaccheus. He was looking 
down with an expression quite removed from one of 
reverential curiosity. The children shouted, and it 
was as much as their mothers could do to hush them 
into silence. Thus passed this religious pageant ; 
when the crowd broke up in much the same humor 
with which they would leave their seats at a theatre. 
Were the historic symbols of our religion intended 
to amuse mankind, this, spectacle might possibly an- 
swer its purpose. But here the awful reality so over- 
powers the representation, that it cannot leave in the 
imagination even the solemnity of a religious delu- 
sion. 

Monday, April 6. We visited to-day the Francis- 
can church and convent. They cover seven acres 
of ground, and combine a degree of architectural 
grandeur and cloisteral luxury singularly at variance 
with the mendicant virtues of the fraternity to which 
they belong. The church, indeed, is one of the most 
sumptuous in Lima, and showers its rich gilding upon 
you from pavement to dome. In its niches, and over 
its altars repose statues, on which art has bestowed 
the highest expressions of its ambition. 

In one of the altars we recognised St. Benedict, 
holding a black infant Saviour in his arms. The ex- 

21* 



246 DECK AND PORT. 



istence of this representation has been denied by a 
distinguished prelate of the Roman Catholic church 
in the United States, but of its truth I have the tes- 
timony of my own eyes. The idea originated, un- 
doubtedly, in a wish to conciliate the African. Rome 
becomes all things to all men, and I hope for the pur- 
pose of saving some. 

The convent has four hundred cloisters, which 
open on stately corridors that circle around central 
courts, where fountains play among evergreens, 
fruits, and flowers. Who would not gaze on a skull 
and a life-glass only an hour or two a day to enjoy 
such a residence as this ? These gloomy emblems 
of our mortality might almost be forgotten in the 
deathless bloom of the amaranth. Give me a monk 
for exigencies ; he can make solitude social, and con- 
vert a golgotha into a garden. He lives in affluence 
without a ready penny, and is sainted without an 
active virtue. 

Tuesday, April 7. To die regularly in Lima the 
patient must be admonished of his approaching end 
by his physician, and receive extreme unction from 
his priest. The physician who should let his patient 
die without this timely warning, would receive the 
severest censures of the relatives of the deceased, 
and be required by the church to pay for masses for 
the repose of his soul. He is consequently faithful 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 247 

in this last sad office. With us the sick often die in 
glowing dreams of life. The pale shadow flits before 
their glassing eyes, but is not seen. 

The medical profession here, in dignity and re- 
spect, ranks far below the pulpit, the bar, and the 
camp. It involves too many cares, too many vigils, 
too many humble offices to suit the indolence and 
pride of the Spaniard. It is consequently exercised 
mainly by those of African or Indian descent, and a 
thankless office they have of it. If their patient sur- 
vives, it is ascribed to some miraculous intervention 
of the Virgin ; if he dies, it is attributed to an m par- 
donable want of skill : so that between the imputed 
miracle in the one case and inevitable death in the 
other, he gets but little credit for his professional 
sagacity. His only resource in all critical cases is 
to call in half a dozen consulting physicians, and 
share with them the responsibility of the issue. I 
always pity a consulting physician ; he must approve 
what has been done, though in so doing he often 
gives the lie to the change of treatment which he 
directs. But let that pass. 

Wednesday, April 8. The great cathedral was 
crowded at an early hour this morning to witness 
the ceremony of the " Banner." As the organ com- 
menced a low, mournful air, a tall priest, robed in 
black, took his station in front of the high altar, 



248 DECK AND PORT. 



where he unfurled from its staff a large sombre 
banner. 

After having waved it for a few minutes in front of 
the lights on the great altar — knocking over one of 
the candles, which I suppose went for Judas Iscariot 
— he faced about, and with his long train, supported 
by three pages, marched down, with a slow stately 
step, into the centre of the cathedral. Here twenty- 
four priests, through whose files he passed, and who 
were in sable robes, with dark crowns on their heads, 
fell flat with their faces upon the pavement. The 
banner continued waving over them for several min- 
utes, while the low tones of the organ died away on 
the silent air. Several of these prostrate functiona 
ries, when their eyes met each other, found it almost 
as difficult to preserve their gravity as Cicero's 
augurs. 

The banner now disappeared through one of the 
side chapels ; the priests got up, replaced their 
crowns, and the spectators departed. Not a word 
was spoken during the whole ceremony; what it 
meant, is more than I can say. I made repeated 
inquiries of those present, but no one could give me 
any information beyond the fact that it belonged to 
Holy Week. I must, therefore, refer the reader to 
those better versed than myself in symbolic worship 
for an interpretation of the vision. 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 249 

Thursday, April 9. At twelve o'clock to-day all 
the bells in Lima rung out a simultaneous peel, and 
were then sent to Rome to be blessed by the Pope. 
They will return again, it is understood, on Satur- 
day, and announce their arrival from their respective 
steeples. Their visit to the pontifex maximus must 
of course be taken in a metaphorical, or Picwickian 
sense. It is a constructive journey, such as our hon- 
orable senators take at the inauguration of a new 
president. 

As the bells left for Rome every shop in Lima was 
closed. No public or private vehicle was seen in 
any street. Even the donkeys, with their water 
tanks, disappeared from the city fountains. Every 
man, woman, and child suspended their amusements, 
labors, and secular cares. The dominoes lay un- 
touched, and the cue of the billiard-table stood un- 
molested in its rack. Men passed each other in the 
streets without the customary salutations. It was 
as if the whole city had been suddenly struck into a 
speechless awe and reverence. 

This was intended to portray an appropriate sense 
of the scenes which occurred in Jerusalem, when 
redeeming Love underwent the agonies of the Cross. 
Its significance lay in the exhibition of a seeming 
sympathy with the sorrows of the sufferer. It was 
a silent allegorical tragedy, in which each one found 
himself an actor. To me no other exhibition in the 



250 DECK AND PORT. 



ceremonies of Holy Week had so much moral force. 
Silence often makes itself felt, when thunder passes 
unheeded. 

Friday, April 10. All good Limaneans, with the 
president and his cabinet at their head, made last 
night the circuit of the principal churches. In each 
was a representation, in effigy, of some scene con- 
nected with the Crucifixion. In San Lorenzo was 
the Last Supper. The table was spread within the 
chancel in front of the high altar, and was loaded 
with the richest viands and fruits, while each plate 
had its bottle of wine and roll of bread. A profane 
epicure might have forgotten the sacredness of the 
symbols in the culinary skill and taste which they 
displayed. 

In the church of San Domingo was represented 
the accusation before Pilate. Beneath the high altar 
sat the Roman governor, with his court on either 
hand ; before them raved the accusers, while within 
stood in silent meekness the divine Victim. Near 
Pilate knelt a page, with a bowl of water in one hand, 
and a napkin in the other, that this arbiter of life and 
death might cleanse his hands of guilt. The whole 
scene betrayed an extravagance in attitude and emo- 
tion better suited to the drama than the solemnity of 
the occasion. 

In the church of San Francisco the slender trees 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 251 

of Gethsemane cast their still shadows over the kneel- 
ing form of the Son of God. By his side stood an 
angel with that cup which might not pass away. In 
the great Cathedral, the summit of Calvary, with the 
cross and the crowd, rose in solemn gloom. In San 
Pedro, the Roman guard, with drawn swords, kept 
their grim watch over the tomb. The moral effect 
of all these exhibitions in a Protestant community 
would be to impair the awful reality ; and even here 
they appeared to inspire but a qualified reverence. 
The mass gazed as a curious child stops in its play 
to look at a picture that has momentarily caught its 
roving eye. 

Saturday, April 11. The great band of musi- 
cians, connected with the army, passed through the 
principal streets of Lima last night, playing a funeral 
wail. The subdued strains rose through the silent 
air mournful as melodies from out the grave. This 
was intended to be significant of the anxious sorrow 
which watched around the tomb where Death had 
temporarily asserted his empire over the Prince of 
Life. 

At an early hour this morning the church of San 
Augustine was filled to overflowing with the beauty 
of Lima. A large choir and orchestra had been 
brought together on the occasion. The music com- 
menced in strains of lamentation and grief; and at 






'w 



252 DECK AND PORT. 



last burst into expressions of the most triumphant 
joy. At this moment the bells in all the towers of 
the city, and which had been silent since Thursday, 
rung out an exulting peal. This was the announce- 
ment of the Resurrection ! The whole assemblage 
fell on their knees and joined in the Hosanna which 
seemed to shake the pillars of the great edifice. 

The whole scene was now changed. Throughout 
the city gladness lighted every countenance, and the 
gayest attire took the place of the gloomy sables 
The confectionaries, the fruit-stalls, the wine-shops, 
the billiard-tables, were all thrown open, and were 
filled by crowds giddy with the excitement of the 
joyous transition. Mothers played with their infants ; 
maidens twined jessamine-flowers in their locks ; 
children fired off their crackers ; cripples neglected 
their crutches ; creditors forgot their insolvent debt- 
ors ; and even the barefooted monk passed you with- 
out soliciting charity. He strode on, independent as 
a lord. 

Sunday, April 12. The jubilation continued 
through the whole of last night. Evening found the 
living tides of the city upon the great public square. 
Here every species of trick and merriment, with the 
humor of the hour, convulsed the crowd with laugh- 
ter. All distinctions and all restraints were cast 
aside. All classes and all colors mingled together 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 253 

like leaves of the forest in the whirl of the autumnal 
winds. 

Some were fiddling, some dancing ; some singing, 
some shouting; some niggling, some nudging; some 
declaiming, some drinking ; some pilfering nosegays, 
and some picking pockets ; some making mischief, 
and some making love. Here a, harlequin turned 
somersets, and there a half-naked rope-dancer figured 
on the suspended cord. Here a Punch and Judy 
played off their pugilistics, and yonder a puppy and 
porcupine bristled and barked. Here a broken- 
headed drum flapped its roll, and there a cracked 
guitar squeaked its discords. Here wit ruled the 
hour, and there rum. 

Thus passed the night till the Sabbath morn threw 
its broad light on the scene. Thus closed Lent, and 
thus commenced Easter-Sunday. Thus terminated 
the ceremonies of Holy Week, — begun in penance 
and prayer, and ended in frolic and fun. That such 
a celebration can substantially promote the cause of 
piety and the proprieties of life, must surpass the be- 
lief of any one whose faith has not lifted the ceremo- 
nies of his church above the reach of human falli- 
bility. 

Monday, April 13. The climate of Lima has no 
extreme variations. The mercury on Fahrenheit's 
scale rarely rises in summer above eighty, and rarely 

22 



254 DECK AND PORT. 



falls in winter below sixty-five. The prevailing tem- 
perature is about seventy-five. But there is a surpri- 
sing sensitiveness in the inhabitants to these slight 
variations. Let a cooler current of air sweep from 
the Cordilleras, and you will encounter everywhere 
the ample cloak and heavy shawl. You hardly feel 
the change yourself, and think for the moment you 
have got among invalids. 

The effect of the climate on the constitutional 
habits of the European, soon betrays itself in a re- 
laxation of his energies. He loses his enterprise, 
enthusiasm, and flinty endurance, and sinks into that 
dreamy listlessness which pervades the great mass. 
His descendants dwindle in intellect, and are dwarfed 
in person. If white, his complexion becomes bronzed; 
if black, it is bleached into hues less sable. The cli- 
mate acts like the crucible which fuses the different 
metals which it contains into one mass. 

The climate acts with the same softening and 
subduing effect on the force and ferocity of animals. 
The dog becomes spiritless, the tiger ceases to spread 
dismay and terror when he leaves his lair, and the 
wild bull brought within the arena, has to be goaded 
to the combat by a system of refined cruelty and tor- 
ture. No animal fights save in his own defence, and 
the men, if roused and forced to action, rarely pursue 
an enemy beyond the limits of the field where fortune 
has favored their arms. 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 255 

Tuesday, April 14. We visited again to-day the 
Franciscan convent. This magnificent establishment 
had once some four hundred inmates, and an income 
suited to the easy and sumptuous style in which they 
lived. But in the Revolution its funds disappeared, 
and the monks sought an asylum elsewhere. We 
encountered in its vacant halls but one, and he dart- 
ed out upon us seemingly to frighten away an Amer- 
ican lady whom we had in our company. He ap- 
peared, as he flitted along the silent corridors, more 
like a dusky ghost than aught of flesh and blood. 
His long robe draped his person ; his cowl half con- 
cealed his wan features ; his thin hands held a cru- 
cifix ; and his steps glided over the pavement noise- 
less as his shadow. He was here, and there ; now 
in the faint light ; now in the shadow of the wall ; 
now in his cell ; now in the chapel, and then sweep- 
ing the long, dim corridor. You saw no motion of 
any limb ; you heard no sound ; and if the glance of 
his eye fell on you, it was but for a moment. 

" Beware ! beware of the black Friar, 

Who flits through these halls of stone, 
For he mutters his prayer in the midnight air, 

And his mass of the days that are gone. 
His form you may trace, but not his face, 

Tis shadow'd by his cowl ; 
But his eyes may be seen from the folds between, 

And they seem of a parted soul." 



256 DECK AND PORT. 



Wednesday, April 15. The most intolerable fea- 
ture of a legal process in Peru grows out of the 
" law's delay." A foreigner maybe imprisoned for 
weeks, and perhaps months, without being able to 
secure a hearing before the proper tribunal. If he 
applies to the functionary, who represents his coun- 
try at this court, his case then takes a diplomatic 
character, and wanders back and forth, in shadowy 
shape, while moons wax and wane. His case is 
loaded with all grievances, piques, and prejudices, 
which have agitated the parties, who have the man- 
agement of it, through a series of years. Till at last 
he finds it quite as difficult to get out of the diplo- 
matic net of his minister as the clutches of Peruvian 
law. 

Now our commodores have a very brief mode of 
settling these difficulties. They man their batteries 
and demand the release of the prisoner in twenty- 
four hours. He is then held amenable to the laws, 
which it is alleged he has offended. If innocent, he 
is rescued from false imprisonment ; if guilty, he 
pays the penalty. There are here no stately forms 
of court etiquette, no subscriptions of having the 
honor to be, with high consideration, your excel- 
lency's most humble nincompoop. Instead of this a 
demand is made, founded in humanity and justice, 
and enforced by argument which the wise will not 
and the timid dare not resist. Such is one of the 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 257 

advantages of having a navy. Disband it and our 
citizens go to prisons and our commerce to pirates. 

In the general tumult of Saturday night one of our 
junior officers came in conflict with an irregular de- 
tachment of the military police. Weapons were 
drawn ; the leader of the file was disarmed by him, 
and several others received slight wounds, when he 
was overpowered by numbers, and led off to the 
guard-house. His liberation was promptly demanded 
by Capt. Du Pont, but his amenability to the laws 
of Peru, of course, recognised. The demand, after 
the responsibility of the case had been shuffled from 
the intendente to the prefect, and from him to the 
criminal judge, was complied with. 

As soon as it reached the lawyers of Lima that a 
case of this kind had got into their courts, they 
gathered around the young officer like forty rival 
lovers for the hand of the same lady. Some prof- 
fered their services for half the usual fee ; some for 
what he might please to give, and several said they 
should charge him nothing except for stationery. 
Some pressed their pretensions through the legiti- 
mate character of their diplomas ; some through 
their relationship to the judge ; and one quoted half 
the Justinian code, as evidence of his qualifications. 

But they were all a little too disinterested ; and it 
was determined to let the ca^e go by default ; and 
pay such damages as the court might decree. The 
22* 



258 DECK AND PORT. 



result was that every rascal who had received a 
scratch, no matter from whom, on Saturday night, 
came in for damages. The sagacity of the judge set 
the claims of most of them aside ; but enough suc- 
ceeded to mulct our young officer in several hun- 
dred dollars, though his sword had as little to do with 
most of their wounds and bruises as the pen with 
which I write this. An offence here connected with 
a foreign officer, has as wide a responsibility as the 
magic of a Salem witch. Hardly a hen can miscarry, 
but the loss of her egg is traced in some way to this 
military Achan. 

But yesterday the captain of an American mer- 
chantman was imprisoned at Callao. Commodore 
Stockton immediately inquired into the circumstan- 
ces, which were these : — The captain had come 
down to the Landing to go on board his vessel, when 
he found his boat's crew in conflict with a party on 
shore. The difficulty originated with a midshipman 
in the Peruvian navy, who had struck one of the 
Americans. The captain made a resolute effort to 
detach his crew from the engagement, when the 
whole were overpowered by the military and lodged 
in prison. 

These being the facts, Commodore Stockton called 
in person on the governor of the port and demanded 
the captain's release.^ His firmness, and his ability 
to back his demands with the guns of the Congress, 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 259 

had the desired effect. The captain was liberated. 
This was done, not to rescue the captain from just 
amenability, but from unjust imprisonment. When 
the case was examined into by the proper authorities 
he was acquitted of all blame : still his innocency 
would not have saved him from a vexatious confine- 
ment but for this resolute proceeding on the part of 
the Commodore. 

Thursday, April 16. The Indian's eyrie, on the 
summit of some steep and lofty mountain, says a 
traveller, may be easily passed many times unnoticed 
by the stranger. But he will one day encounter a 
swift-footed Indian, closely followed by a person on 
a well-accoutred mule, — whose geer is 'all laden with 
silver ornaments ; and the rider, who sits at his ease 
in a saddle of the country, with a rich pillion, wears 
a large brimmed hat, with a black silk cap emerging 
to view at the ears and temples. He has on a couple 
of ponchos, well decorated and fringed : — his brown 
stockings are of warm Vecufia wool ; and the heel 
of his small shoe, half concealed in a clumsy, though 
costly wooden stirrup, is armed with a prodigiously 
disproportioned silver spur, with a large tinkling 
roller, used to keep his noble animal in mind that she 
is but the harbinger of death, and carries on her back 
the keeper of the sinner's conscience. 

This minister of peace to the miserable hurries to 



260 DECK AND PORT. 



shrive the soul of a dying Indian, whose abode, like 
the falcon's, overlooks the paths of the ordinary way- 
faring man ; and which, when descried, seems to the 
sight of the observer underneath to be, indeed, the 
loftiest earthly point between the ground he himself 
stands upon, and the heaven for which, it is believed, 
the anxious and fluttering spirit of the dying man 
only waits the curate's absolution and blessing to 
wing its immortal flight. When all is over, when 
the absolving benediction has been pronounced, and 
death has triumphed where life took its last stand, the 
pale pulseless form, wrapped in its most costly vest, 
is dressed for burial. Wild-flowers are strewn on 
the dead by the Indian maiden, while the cliffs around 
mournfully echo back the funeral dirge. How true 
is human instinct to the awful mystery of the 
grave ! 

Observing an immense concourse on the grand 
plaza, I elbowed my way among them, and soon as- 
certained the cause of the rush to be the drawing of 
the public lottery. On an elevated ample platform 
were seated the judges, before whom revolved three 
hollow globes. The first contained the billets repre- 
senting the prizes, the second the names of those who 
held tickets, the third the numbers of these tickets. 
When the globes stopped revolving, the lads station- 
ed at each drew, through a small aperture, simulta- 
neously, a billet. One contained the prize, another 



SKETCHES OP LIMA. 261 

the number of the ticket, the third the name of the 
owner. Every heart was now in a terrible flutter till 
the number and name were announced ; and then a 
shadow fell on many faces that were bright a mo- 
ment before. 

The largest prize was a thousand dollars ; the least 
was a silver pitcher, or a silver unmentionable, be- 
longing to chamber furniture, and which was dis- 
played without the slightest sentiment of mirth. A 
more motley crowd than those whose dreams of 
wealth were here dashed, delusive hope never brought 
together. They assembled in noise and mirth, and 
separated in silence and sadness. Such a scene as 
this the grand plaza presents on the afternoon of 
every Wednesday. The proprietor of the lottery 
pays the state annually forty thousand dollars for his 
privilege. The tickets are one real, or twelve and a 
half cents each. They who cannot buy ten, twenty, 
or a hundred, can buy one. In this lies the secret of 
its success and mischief. It finds a dupe wherever 
-it can find a fool with a penny. The venders of these 
lottery tickets hawk them through every street and 
lane, and from the stepstones of every church in 
Lima. The pious signature assumed by the pur- 
chaser, shows that he connects his hopes of success 
with the assurances of his religious faith. No one 
here would pit a cock without a prayer to his patron 
saint. 



262 DECK AND PORT. 



Friday, April 17. On the Sabbath which succeed- 
ed Holy Week I went to the cathedral to attend wor- 
ship, and found it closed ; continued on to the church 
of San Pedro, and found that closed ; turned off to 
the church of San Augustin, and found that also 
closed. Observing the streets full of people, who 
were moving towards the broad bridge which crosses 
the Rimac, I concluded that there must be some 
great religious festival in that quarter, and followed 
on. 

The crowds continued to move over the Rimac, 
but instead of entering any church, wound off, in 
solid column, through the rows of trees which shade 
its left bank. I at last inquired of an intelligent look- 
ing man who was walking at my elbow, to what sa- 
cred spot they were bound. When, with a look of 
half wonder at my ignorance, he replied, To the cor- 
rida de toros ! — the bull-fight ! I turned on my heel 
and threaded my way back, with some difficulty, 
through the crowds who were pressing onward to 
the savage spectacle. Among them were groups of 
children from the schools, — boys in gay frocks, and 
girls in white, with wreaths of flowers around their 
sunny locks, headed by their teachers. Monks with 
their beads, mothers with their daughters ; infancy 
at the breast, and old age with one foot in the grave ; 
all chattering and laughing, and jostling and shout- 
ing, and pressing on to the bull-ring, on the Sabbath ' 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 263 



Upon inquiry, I found that these bull-fights former- 
ly took place on Monday, but that the Archbishop of 
Lima, to enable the laboring classes to attend them, 
had changed the day to the Sabbath. They are a 
horrible spectacle at best, utterly revolting to every 
sentiment of refinement and humanity ; and the so- 
cial and moral evils which they inflict would be suf- 
ficiently revolting were they confined to secular oc- 
casions, but they become doubly pernicious when 
they involve such an outrage on the sanctity of the 
Sabbath, under the sanction, too, of the highest ec- 
clesiastical functionary in the state. 

Bull-fights, as conducted here, involve very little 
peril and suffering except to the poor beast. His 
antagonists are pretty safe, or he would drive them 
out of the arena. It is an exhibition of craft and 
cowardice on one side, and courage and despair on 
the other. Of the two, the bull sustains much the 
nobler part, and would have much the larger share 
of my sympathy and respect. If men must fight for 
the amusement of their fellows, let them fight one 
another. If the death of one don't furnish sufficient 
excitement, then let the other be shot or hung, as the 
taste of the spectators shall suggest. But let them 
not catch a poor beast, torture him with fagots and 
fire, skulk themselves, and pick him to death with 
their long weapons, and then insult the intelligence 



264 DECK AND PORT. 



of the community by calling the dastardly act an 
exhibition of chivalry and valor. 

It is*no wonder the ladies in Lima are deficient in 
delicacy and moral refinement, accustomed as they 
are from their childhood to such savage spectacles. 
It is but justice, however, to say, that there are some 
mothers here who will not permit their daughters to 
attend them ; nor will they allow them, for this, or 
any other purpose, to disguise themselves in the say a y 
manto. There was one righteous man in Sodom, and 
there is more than one good mother even in Lima. 



265 



CHAPTER IX. 

SKETCHES OF LIMA. 

Education of females. — marriages. — lapses from virtue. — the sun- 
set BELL. SILK FACTORY IN A CONVENT. HABITS OF THE INDIANS. 

THE HALF WEDLOCK. BLIND PEDLER.— PROTESTANT YOUTH IN LIMA. 

RELIGION OF THE LIMANIANS. INTRIGUES AT COURT. MODES OF LIV- 
ING. THE ZAMPAS. CHURCHES. — INDIAN DOCTORS. FRUITS OF THE 

COUNTRY. OLD SPANISH FAMILIES. — MASSES FOR THE REPOSE OF THE 

SOUL. 

u I say in my slight way I may proceed 
To play upon the surface of humanity ; 
I write the world, nor care if the world read, 
At least for this I cannot spare its vanity." 

Saturday, April 18. A girl here at the age of 
ten or eleven is as far advanced in her social and 
matrimonial anticipations as she is with us at seven- 
teen. She expects in her fourteenth year to sway 
hearts, as the moon the troubled tide. For this pe- 
riod she trains herself with an ambition far beyond 
her years ; and when it arrives, she is armed with all 
the brilliant weapons of beauty, wit, repartee, and a 
lively self-possession. Her wit never wounds, her 
repartee never gives offence. She is thoroughly 
amiable in all her sallies, she means to make you 
think well of her, and is equally anxious that you 
should think well of yourself. She understands how 
to inspire self-complacency without any broad flat- 
23 



266 DECK AND PORT. 



tery. She is sportive, but it is with dignity ; and 
will sooner excuse a liberty than a slight. 

When this hey-day of life has been sufficiently 
enjoyed, she marries, not from having fallen in love, 
but for the sake of an establishment. If her husband 
devotes himself to her, she is generally faithful ; but 
if he spends his nights in clubs, at the billiard and 
card table, she is apt to permit the intimacy of some 
one whom she ought not to love. This is rarely, if 
ever, followed by a domestic explosion. She feels 
secure of all that forbearance and silence which the 
most jealous regard to the peace and reputation of 
the family can suggest. With us, the injured party, 
though first himself in the fault, yet in his resent- 
ment often turns his own hearth-stone into a tomb. 
Guilt never fails to carry with it, in the end, its own 
punishment. There is a serpent in the cup of guilty 
pleasure, whose fang will inflict wounds on which the 
tears of repentant anguish will yet fall big and fast. 

Sunday, April 19. There is one religious observ- 
ance in Lima which reminds the traveller of the call 
of the muezzin from the minarets of Constantinople, 
when he summons the Mussulman to prayer. When 
the bell of the great Cathedral tolls the departing 
sun, every one, whether on foot, in his curricle, or on 
horseback, and whatever may be his speed, stops and 
takes off his hat. The gayest look grave, and the 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 267 

serious whisper a brief prayer. The shopkeeper sus- 
pends his bargain, the billiard-player lays down his 
cue ; the gambler folds his cards and reverently rises. 
In a minute the bell ceases : the horseman dashes on, 
the cue and cards are resumed, and Heaven seems 
again forgotten. 

Many of the simple artisans ply their trades out- 
side their shops. You will encounter twenty or 
thirty shoemakers driving the awl in a single court, 
and as many tailors pushing the needle in another ; 
while a third is filled by milliners, bleaching and 
trimming gipsy-hats for Indian girls. The Limanian 
lady seldom wears a bonnet ; she prefers the manto ; 
with that she can conceal her face, save the peeping 
eye, and pass unrecognised. The saya or skirt of 
this disguising dress is not the work of her own sex ; 
it is always cut and made by the same hands which 
fit and seam the coats of the gentlemen. What can 
be expected of a nation where the men are engaged 
in making petticoats for the women ? Enterprises 
of pith and moment are not achieved through the 
stitches of that garment. But let that pass. 

Monday, April 20. The convent of San Pedro, 
an extensive, costly edifice, has been converted into 
an establishment for raising and twisting silk. The 
few monks who still lingered in their cloisters, when 
they saw the worms slowly winding themselves up 



268 DECK AND PORT. 



in their continuous thread, as if the sole object of 
life was to secure an undisturbed exit from it, con- 
cluding that two of a trade could never agree, picked 
up their rosaries and relics, and departed. The 
worms work on, and wind their silk sepulchres as 
industriously as if the monks who have gone had 
left behind them their ghastly mementoes of life's 
brevity. 

How strangely sounds that steam-engine as it turns 
the twisting machinery, and throws its ceaseless echoes 
around among these chambers once dedicated to the 
spirit of silence ! And the thread, as it reels itself off 
from the cocoon, seems as if it unwound the quiet ex- 
istence of some recluse, whose life was here " rounded 
with a sleep." These threads are to be woven into 
a rich tissue, beneath which the bounding heart and 
glowing limb will but faintly indicate the penance 
and vigils which once reigned in these gloomy cham- 
bers, from which they stream to the light. Such are 
the strange mutations to which the enterprise of the 
age brings us. A convent is converted into a facto- 
ry, its skulls into steam-boilers, and its beads into 
bobbins ! It is enough to wake St. Anthony out of 
his sunless sleep ! 

A relic can no further dwindle 

Than when 'tis reeled from spool or spindle. 

Tuesday, April 21. I have encountered no class 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 269 

of persons in Peru that have awakened the same de- 
gree of sympathy and interest as the native Indians. 
On them have been piled misfortunes that would have 
crushed a less enduring race. Their lands, their for- 
ests, and their streams have been wrenched from 
them through treachery and force. The mounds in 
which the bones of their forefathers were entombed, 
have been violated, and these sacred relics exposed 
to the gaze of a profane curiosity. These are wrongs 
against which his untutored nature rebels, and which 
he partially avenged in the frightful scenes of the 
Revolution. The power of Spain in Peru went down 
like a wreck, over which the whelming wave rushes 
in remorseless triumph. 

The Indians on the coast, born among Europeans, 
have still something of that sedateness which is char- 
acteristic of their race, when reared under the influ- 
ences of civilization. But those from the interior, 
whose cradles were swung among the stupendous 
steeps of the Andes, have a stern, wild force, which 
shows where their home has been. They look with 
scorn on the tricks of the toilet. They may indeed 
wear plumes in their dark hair, but they are from the 
pinions of some dai ,'ng bird that has battled with the 
mountain storm, or whose rush has been over the 
cataract's plunging verge. Still, they are in a great 
measure free from ferocity and disguised revenge. 
They are magnanimous as conquerors, and patient 
23* 



270 DECK AND PORT. 



as captives. They never lose their equanimity in 
good or ill fortune. 

Wednesday, April 22. Flowers here play an im- 
portant part in love matters. If a lady presents a 
gentleman with a rose in the morning, it is significant 
of the fact that he has not yet, at least in her imagin- 
ation, passed into the yellow leaf. But if she pre- 
sents it to him in the evening, there is no hope for 
him, unless he can rejuvenate himself. These floral 
gifts at the anniversary of the lady's birthday, fly 
about thick as Cupid's arrows. They are graceful 
advances when presented by gentlemen, and delicate 
responses when given by ladies. 

The Indian girl has less reserve in her love recog- 
nitions. She sends a pretty doll on a nice little 
couch, covered with white jessamine flowers. This 
is a broader intimation than that given through the 
rose by the Spanish lady ; but it proceeds from a 
heart quite as guileless and chaste. If I must con- 
fide in the purity and fidelity of either, let it be in 
the one who thus embodies the instincts of her sex in 
these mimic miniatures of life. Yet with all this seem- 
ing delicacy in an affair of the heart, the Spanish lady 
indulges in a latitude of speech that would quite dis- 
turb female modesty with us. Her allusions are as 
broad as are the exhibitions of folly and vice. She 
speaks of a man's mistress, or a woman's paramour, 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 271 

just as freely as she would of their carrier-pigeons, 
and with just about as little surprise or virtuous in- 
dignation. She seems to consider it neither a high 
crime nor a pitiable weakness ; but one of those for- 
tunes which mysteriously connect themselves with 
the conditions of humanity. When she weds, she 
will probably need the same charitable construction, 
and she will be pretty sure to receive it from her" 
family and friends. They will deprecate and resent 
as suicidal folly, any public demonstrations of domes- 
tic disquietude. The husband, if a foreigner, is told 
that these are the habits of the country ; if a native, 
he needs no such information. 

Thursday, April 23. When a young female con- 
sents to become the mistress of a man here, she re- 
quires of him a certificate that he will not marry 
without her consent. This certificate she deposites 
with the Bishop of Lima, and purchases a dispensa- 
tion for the irregularity involved in the compact. 
Should the man, from weariness or any other motive, 
attempt to effect a marriage arrangement with an- 
other person, without her consent, she calls at once 
on the bishop, who threatens the delinquent, if he 
perseveres, with the highest pains and penalties of the 
church. 

He is thus reduced to the necessity of either 
making an adequate settlement on the person with 



272 DECK AND PORT. 



whom he entered into the illicit arrangement, or of 
foregoing entirely his matrimonial purposes. The 
object of the bishop in this matter is to prevent a 
dishonored female, with perhaps three or four chil- 
dren, from being thrown on the world without any 
means of support. Whether this motive, even when 
its object is achieved, can justify the semi-official 
sanction of the compact, is another question. But 
this I may say, it often prevents the heartless liber- 
tine from selfishly abandoning one for whose guilt 
and ruin he is measurably responsible. If he don't 
like the conditions, then let him decline the arrange- 
ment; it is at best only a passport to guilt and 
sorrow. 

Friday, April 24. I encountered to-day a blind 
pedler, of whom there are several in Lima. He car- 
ried two baskets, the one filled with elegant toys, the 
other with ribbons, thread, needles, and pins. He 
knew where to find each article, and the price which 
he should get for it. Even the quality of the ribbon 
could not deceive his delicate touch ; nor could the 
coin which he received in exchange, palm itself off 
for more than its value. Heaven guide and protect 
thee, thou poor blind pedler ! We all feel our way 
through this dim world in the hope of reaching a 
brighter and better. 

There are a great many families in Lima who 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 273 

have no cooking done in their houses through the 
year. They send out to the cook-stands which are 
sprinkled ail over the city. They thus save the ex- 
pense of extra servants and fuel. It is another mode 
of disguising poverty, and of avoiding the necessity 
of breaking up their establishments. When a Span- 
ish family of some pretension becomes reduced, and 
it is necessary to sell the carriage, the coat-of-arms 
and every clue to its previous owner, are, as far as 
possible, effaced. As a last resort, the household ser- 
vants are allowed to hire themselves out, and bring 
back a portion of their earnings to their owner. 
When these die, or desert, the last string in the old 
harp is broken. If a tone lingers still, it is so sad 
you would not hear it breathe again. There is some- 
thing in the condition of a man who is now poor and 
who has seen better days, with which only the most 
callous levity can trifle. It was only out of Eden 
that Adam felt in its full force his irreparable loss. * 

Saturday, April 25. Foreign youth who come 
to Lima from Protestant countries to engage in busi- 
ness, often disappoint the fondest expectations of their 
friends. Cast adrift from the moral and religious re- 
straints which they felt at home, and having no re- 
spect for the solemn pageantries of religion which 
they encounter here, they fall easy victims to the 
vices of the metropolis. Hardly one in ten escapes 



274 DECK AND PORT. 



the giddy maelstrom, down which they are whirled 
from light and hope. Their ruin would at least be re- 
tarded were the institutions of the Protestant faith 
permitted here. But the Roman hierarchy, which 
cries aloud for freedom of conscience in the United 
States, here tramples it down with Bastille ferocity. 
If the masses in the Catholic church here are bigoted 
and intolerant, their spiritual superiors have made 
them so. The depth of the forest wakes or sleeps 
with the tempest that walks over it. 

The frailties of the Limanian female seem not to 
extinguish her sympathies with distress. She is often 
at the couch of pain with that tender assiduity which 
we can hardly dissever from a virtuous life. Her 
watchful care is not denied to* the stranger, or to 
those utterly incapable of rewarding it. This sur- 
viving virtue, amid the wreck of others, is to be 
ascribed perhaps to that forbearance which her frail- 
ties experience. With us she would be abandoned 
by her relatives, and delivered over by her former 
associates to irremediable crime and shame. The 
result of this is a fearful proclivity in guilt and ruin. 
Whether virtue is best vindicated by a denunciation 
which never relents, or a forbearance which tries to 
save, is a question which would not long hold me in 
suspense. No heart is wholly bad; it has some string 
in it that will vibrate if rightly touched. He who 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 275 

suffered on the cross died to open the door of mercy, 
not to shut it. 

Sunday, April 26. The religion of the Limani- 
ans is entitled to a charitable judgment. The mass 
of the people are not responsible for the pageantries 
with which it is invested. Their uninformed faith 
may be perplexed among shadows, but it often pene- 
trates to the substance. Among the frivolous there 
are not a few with whom religion is an earnest real- 
ity. Among the skeptical, many may be found who 
have cast the anchor of their hopes within the veil. 

We may denounce the proscriptive polity of their 
church, but we should not denounce them. They 
worship in a temple which the zeal of ages has rear- 
ed to their hands. They found its doors barred to 
other religious persuasions, and it is requiring too 
much to expect that they will at once throw back its 
bolts. This can be realized only through the influ- 
ence of that higher light which the Bible is now 
pouring into the recesses of every sectarian shrine. 
Even our own Protestant altars are now visited by 
rays which have long been shut out, or permitted to 
fall in only faint fragments. The spirit of intoler* 
ance which has pervaded our churches, has been a 
source of vast moral mischief. The road to heaven 
is covered with the footprints of thousands, who have 
been won to it by the accents of Christian love. 



276 DECK AND PORT. 



Monday, April 27. When a political intrigue 
explodes in Lima, the first inquiry is for the woman 
that sprung the mine. She is generally found to be 
some courtesan, whose success lies more in the pow- 
er of her personal charms than her force of intellect. 
Her carriage in Lima and her rancho at Chorillos, 
sufficiently attest her means, and the honor of those 
favors through which she beguiles the unwary states- 
man into her plans and purposes. 

If the plot fails, her coadjutors may atone for their 
political profligacy with their lives ; but she lives on, 
and may yet ensnare the judges that doomed them. 
She has a tact that eludes sagacity, and a perseve- 
rance that seems to challenge obstacles. She makes 
her way where the maturest counsels are disconcert- 
ed, and triumphs where the most daring courage is 
foiled. She detects at a glance the unguarded point 
in the most crafty, and turns his weapons against 
himself. Her intrigues sometimes result in benefit 
to the state. The same mysterious hand, that traces 
in ominous characters the doom of the obnoxious or 
incapable minister, often executes its own sentence. 

All this indicates a truth, which a thousand other 
facts corroborate, that the women of Lima are far in 
advance of the men in sagacity and force of purpose. 
In the frightful conflicts of the Revolution, when 
men's hearts failed them, they were in disguise on 
horseback among the troops, nerving the timid, and 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 277 

rallying the brave. No political party can long 
maintain its ascendency in Peru that has not their 
confidence and support. They will make it ridicu- 
lous with their raillery, or odious with their denun- 
ciation. 

Tuesday, April 28. Out of Lima, the masses in 
Peru subsist mostly on a vegetable diet. The flour 
of maize, wheat, peas, beans, barley, rice, and arrow- 
root, are made into a soft pap, or mush, which is 
sweetened exceedingly with sugar or molasses. This 
is the great Peruvian dish called " masamora," and 
which is the edible staple in every family. It pro- 
duces sleekness without strength, and fatness with- 
out fire. They who subsist upon it retain their flesh 
till they pass forty ; then begin to dwindle away ; at 
sixty they are extremely thin ; and at seventy have 
hardly substance enough to cast a shadow. 

A mother here never nurses her child when she is 
angry, for fear of imparting to it a choleric tempera- 
ment. If unable to perform herself this agreeable 
maternal function, she procures a black nurse, but 
never an Indian. The vital tide from a red skin she 
feels assured will give it a fiery irascible disposition. 
She considers the milk of the black cow cooler than 
that of any other, and anticipates a mild and amiable 
temper in her children as she pours it into their por- 
ringers. I like this idea of not nursing a child when 

24 



278 DECK AND PORT. 



angry. It is another check on peevishness and pas- 
sion. It would not be amiss were the superstition 
universal. Of all objects in the world the most pain- 
ful to me is, a mother nursing and scolding at the 
same time. It is worse than thunder out of a soft 
April cloud. 

Wednesday, April 29. There are in Lima two 
associations which are very attentive to strangers. 
A member of one is called a pillo, a member of the 
other a pillofero. The first is a genteel loafer, the 
second a dexterous gambler. So you have your 
choice between a good-humored graceless uninvited 
guest, and a refined cheat. The one is satisfied with 
your table and floating change, the other goes for 
your purse and its entire contents. The one plun- 
ders you through your vanity, the other through your 
bad fortune. 

Priests here not only guard the prerogatives of 
their order, but the purity of their Spanish blood. A 
high ecclesiastic, of Indian or African descent, is not 
to be found in their ranks. Such a lineage would 
debar him the sacred functions of the altar. Those 
who exercise them are as jealous of the Castilian 
blood which flows in their veins, as an old Hidalgo 
furbishing his family coat-of-arms. They inculcate 
equality among their communicants, and make them 
kneel together on the same stone pavement, but they 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 279 



stand aloof in the immemorial privileges and dignity 
of their order. They have inferiors who mix with 
the masses : some of these are devoted men ; they 
encounter incredible hardships in propagating their 
faith. Their self-denying zeal may well be a lesson 
to Protestants. 

The most amusing being in Lima is the mestizo — 
the offspring of the European and Indian. His wit 
and humor never fail him. He will convulse you 
with laughter, and be himself quite sedate. It puz- 
zles you that a bird of such dazzling plumage should 
fly out of the shadows of such a sombre tree. The 
zambo, half Indian and half African, has a broader 
humor. His allusions are under no restraints from 
sentiments of delicacy, or respect for the presence of 
the other sex. I have seen one of them keep a street 
crowd in a roar by the hour. 

Zambos are generally employed as household ser- 
vants. The children naturally fall into their care, 
and become early accustomed to the language sug- 
gested by their prurient imaginations. Love in- 
trigues are with them a never-failing source of en- 
tertainment. Even the " peccadillos" of their parents 
are sometimes made a subject of mirth. The adven- 
tures of the mother are thus made known to the 
daughter. Her prudent counsels, after that, sound 
hollow indeed. It is not to be wondered at that she 
should turn away from the precept to imitate the 



280 DECK AND TORT. 



example. Many families, and among them some of 
the first in Lima, have thus been plunged in irre- 
trievable humiliation and grief. The cause may be, 
and generally is, carefully concealed. But an un- 
seen wound may rankle as deeply as that which has 
no covering. The light which a mother should de- 
pend upon to guide the steps of her daughter, is that 
which is reflected from her own example. If shadows 
rest on this — if it falls only in transient flakes, seen 
one moment and lost the next, like the firefly's fitful 
beam — it will only serve the more to bewilder and 
betray. What the mother would have her daughters, 
she should be herself. It is her example, and not her 
precepts, that shapes their social and moral being. 

Thursday, April 30. In the native Indians is 
found the productive industry of Peru. The prod- 
ucts of their gardens and fields roll in a ceaseless tide 
into the markets of Lima. Their jewelry and pon- 
chos, wrought with little aid from machinery, rival 
in elegance some of the most finished productions of 
art ; while their sturdy arms fill with ceaseless echoes 
the deep silver mines of the Andes. The roads 
which they constructed under their Incas still run 
along the jagged steeps of the, Cordilleras ; their 
swinging gardens still throw their fragrance on the 
wind ; and through their aqueducts still rolls with re- 
freshing force the mountain stream. But many of 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 281 

their richest plains and glens, Spanish rule and indo- 
lence have turned into sterility. 

An Indian boy from the interior, domesticated in 
a European family in Lima, will at first show some 
alacrity in duty ; but when he enters the summer of 
youth, he flies back to his mountain home. And the 
Indian girl, who has little else to do than carry a mat 
to church, on which her mistress may kneel at mass, 
when the levities of childhood are passed, turns an 
earnest eye to the picturesque glades of the Andes. 
The sequestered hut, the wild fruits and flowers 
which bloom around it, the stream that ripples past 
the door, the lama-skin couch, and one by whom she 
can be loved and protected, float through her young 
dreams, and off she flies for the reality of this roman- 
tic vision. Her mistress, the next time she goes to 
mass, looks for her Indian girl, and begins to think 

" That love in simplest hearts hath deepest sway." 

Feiday, May 1. The most tender and melancholy 
associations here are those which crowd upon one, 
seated at twilight by the burial mounds of those who 
were once sole possessors of the soil. The yellow- 
leaved willows wave in the still moonlight ; their 
whispers are in mournful unison with the dirge of 
the Indian, which still floats over the graves of his 
fathers, and melts into harmony with the voice of the 
cuculi, that responds in plaintive notes from the gua- 
24* 



282 DECK AND PORT. 



rango grove. Every thing around you breathes of 
the past, and of the ruins which time and disaster 
have left behind. 

" Thou unrelenting Past ! 
Strong are the barriers round thy dark domain, 

And fetters, sure and fast, 
Hold all that enter thy unbreathing reign. 

Far in thy realms withdrawn, 
Old empires sit in sullenness and gloom, 

And glorious ages gone, 
Lie deep within the shadow of thy womb." 

The swinging hammock is the sofa of the Lima- 
nian lady. This airy couch, twined of beautiful 
grass, and died into the varied hues of the rainbow, 
swings in the cool corridor, while flowers of loveliest 
tint throw around it their fragrant breath. In the 
midst of these odors the fair one takes her siesta, 
while her cheek is flushed with the triumph that 
floats along her rosy dream. Sleep on while yet 
thou mayest ; a morrow comes when these visions 
of pride and happiness will take to themselves wings 
and fly away. Care and sorrow will cast their 
shadows upon thee, and thou must walk in their 
gloom down to the dreamless sleep of the grave. 
But there are visions which will not depart ; there 
are flowers that will never die ; but they belong to 
the spirit-land. 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 283 

Saturday, May *i. The cathedral, and indeed all 
the principal churches of Lima, impress you more 
through the magnificence of their proportions than 
any richness of architecture. They are generally 
built of a coarse freestone, stuccoed and painted. 
Their domes and towers rise on the distant eye, in 
gaudy grandeur, but betray their poverty on a closer 
vision. The statues which adorn them are generally 
coarse and frail in the material, and without taste in 
the execution. Over every altar is a statue of the 
Virgin in the hues of life. Her costume is light or 
dark, as the occasion is merry or sad ; but the skirt 
of her dress always spreads to the right and left like 
a great fan. This depression is given it, so that 
the priest officiating at the altar, when he looks up, 
may see her benignant face. 

Sunday, May 3. In the church of San Domingo 
is a statue, in which there is an attempt to represent, 
under the similitudes of the human form and coun- 
tenance, the Supreme Jehovah. The idea is taken 
from those ancient sculptures which embody the at- 
tributes of the Olympian Jove. The analogy be- 
tween those statues which Christianity has been 
made to sanctify, and those which she cast off with 
the mythology of paganism, is painfully true. We 
have here the Venus of the Greeks in the likeness of 
the blessed Virgin, and the Jupiter of the Romans in 



284 DECK AND PORT. 



the representations of the Supreme Being. Mercu- 
ry, in the character of the Angel of the Annunciation, 
brings tidings from heaven ; and Pluto, under the 
thunder-scarred front of Satan, reigns over hell. The 
unpurified, instead of wandering on the gloomy Styx, 
now wander in purgatory, till some Charon, in the 
person of an absolving priest, ferries them over to 
the fields of purple light. I know the force of visi- 
ble symbols, and the facility and seeming advantage 
of impressing man through his outward senses ; but 
something is due to the dignity of truth and the 
sanctity of that spiritual revelation which God has 
made of himself, and above all to that fearful man- 
date — " Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven 
image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in the 
heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the wa- 
ter under the earth : thou shalt not bow down to 
them nor worship them." 

Monday, May 4. The aborigines of Peru still 
wear a bean at the temple as a charm against dis- 
ease, and still adhere to their herb doctors. These 
simple disciples of Esculapius, laden with their barks, 
balsams, roots, and herbs, traverse the steeps and 
glens of the Andes, descend into the plains of Chili, 
and the pampas of Buenos Ayres. If they seldom 
cure, they have the satisfaction of knowing that they 
never kill. But as the legitimate province of medi- 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 285 

cine is to amuse the patient, while nature cures the 
disease, perhaps the result of their practice will not 
suffer by a comparison with that of their more learn- 
ed brethren. It is much wiser, in ordinary cases, to 
hang a bean to the temple, than to put a pill into the 
stomach. Nature never complains of the bean, but 
she is often very much puzzled to know what to do 
with the pill. Were the ghosts of those who have 
fallen victims to medicine to appear on this earth, 
there would be a more terrible shaking among the 
medical profession, than there was in the valley of 
Ezekiel's vision of dry bones. 

Tuesday, May 5. The winds in Peru prevail for 
nine months in the year from the south. These 
cooler currents, mingling themselves with warmer 
airs, produce what is called the Scotch mist. It instils 
itself into your garments slowly, but in a continued 
exposure will completely saturate them. It is expe- 
rienced most at night, and disappears beneath the 
slanting rays of the sun. Strangers are apt to disre- 
gard it ; but the natives put on their ponchos. 

The traveller from a northern zone finds the sea- 
sons quite reversed here. Spring opens with Sep- 
tember. When the farmer with us is gathering in 
his last harvest the seeds of the first are sown here. 
When the birds forsake our groves for winter quar- 
ters, they are here selecting their vernal mates. 



286 DECK AND PORT. 



When the flowers with us perish, they are here just 
opening their bright eyes to the sun. Nature never 
leaves herself here without a witness, nor society 
without its signals, as seen in this monk and Peru 
vian farmer. 




Monk. Peruvian Farmer. 

I encountered two things in the markets of Lima 
rather peculiar in their way. The first was a chicken 
quartered as if it had been a sheep or bullock, and 
sold in parts to suit purchasers ; each part bringing 
the price of a whole one with us. The second was 
a monk carrying a little tray, with a crucifix em- 
bossed upon it, which every one was invited to kiss, 
and pay for the privilege what he might please to 
put in. One cast into it a biscuit, another a sausage, 
a third a potatoe ; so the monk went off with quite a 
breakfast, and will be back assuredly to-morrow 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 287 

morning to have it filled again in the same way. It 
was the first time I ever saw the privilege of a kiss 
purchased with a potatoe. But a monk is seldom at 
a loss for an expedient. 

Of all the fruits in Peru, the most esteemed is the 
chirimoya. It grows rather larger than our pippin, 
has a rough exterior, but is filled with a soft pulp, 
which resembles in taste our strawberries and 
cream. It is scooped out with a teaspoon, melts in 
the mouth, and gushes over the palate in a luscious 
tide. The tree which bears this fruit requires seven- 
teen years before its seminal buds ripen into their 
precious burden. 

Next comes the granadilla, the fruit of the passion 
flower. It resembles, in shape, size, and smoothness 
of texture, the egg of our domestic fowls. You break 
the shell, and swallow the rich mucilaginous pulp 
with its delicate seeds. The taste has no analogies 
in any other fruit. At first it seems to want charac- 
ter or palatable emphasis, but it wins upon you, till 
that which appeared a defect becomes an excellence. 
It is just such a fruit as the seeming sacredness of its 
origin would lead you to expect. It brings you back 
in your sensations to that fount which nursed your 
infant life. 

Close on this follows the palta-pear, with its large 
central stone resembling that of the peach. This 
fruit, which is protected by a hard, thin rind, has the 



288 DECK AND PORT. 



consistence of thick cream, and, with salt sprinkled 
on it, is used upon bread as an excellent substitute 
for butter. I do not wonder that the epicurean 
monk, in his desire to lift the flagging imaginations 
of his hearers to the fruitions of the better land, rep- 
resents the chirimoya, the granadilla, and palta, as 
nodding over its crystal streams. They have that 
which never entered even the imagination of Maho- 
met, when he spread the verdant lawns and wove the 
ambrosial bowers of his pictured heaven. 

Wednesday, May 6. The therapeutics of the 
Limanians are as peculiar, when applied to their tem- 
pers, as their bodies. They never drink cold water 
when angry, from an apprehension that it conduces 
to hepatic diseases. In their opinion it chills and 
contracts the biliary excretories, prevents a natural 
flow of the bile, and leads to congestion. The phy- 
sician often attributes the death of his patient to this 
fatal indiscretion. He would sooner give an angry 
man alcohol, than a glass of iced- water. 

The old Spanish families, who were swept away 
by the Revolution, resembled the Mussulman in many 
of their characteristic habits. They were remarka- 
ble for their commercial probity, their love of ease, 
their hatred of innovation, their intolerance of the 
slightest indignity, their pride of lineage, and their 
indulgence in sensual gratifications. Their dwellings 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 289 

were stately castles, where the indolent lounged, the 
gay revelled, the sad were beguiled of their sorrows, 
and the poor forgot their poverty. But they have 
passed away, save a few who remain, like the sturdy 
trees of a forest, which the hurricane hath swept. 
The few who remain are rarely engaged in any im- 
portant enterprises. What capital they have is often 
locked up, where they forego the interest for the 
safety of the principal. There is one old Spaniard 
who has now, and has had for years, eight hundred 
thousand dollars packed away in the vaults of a large 
commercial house here. An interest of twenty per 
cent, would not draw it from its stronghold. Revo- 
lution and rapacity have wrecked his confidence ; and 
he is in this respect only one among thousands. The 
result is, the commerce of Peru has fallen mostly 
into the hands of the English and Americans. Their 
daring spirit will carry it on, though revolutions suc- 
ceed each other strong and fast as the breaking 
waves of ocean. But the storm is past, and the great 
deep is rocking itself to rest. 

The Spanish lady has but little book-knowledge, 
but a most observant sagacity. She has no acquire- 
ments in letters, but reads character as by intuition. 
She never essays an argument, and is never at a loss 
for a pertinent reply. She is ardent in her tempera- 
ment, and yet rarely loses her equanimity. She is 
alive to adulation, and is never overawed by menace. 
25 



290 DECK AND PORT. 



She is punctilious in all the forms of religion, and 
persevering in all the perils of an intrigue. Her 
mornings are spent with her confessor, her evenings 
with her lover. 

Masses for the repose of the soul are inculcated by 
the clergy as an indispensable religious duty. They 
are a source of vast revenue to the curate, and often 
involve the relatives of the deceased in ruinous ex- 
penses. It is considered worse than cruel to leave 
in purgatory the soul of a relative, which might be 
relieved through the efficacy of the mass. The dic- 
tates of religion and nature are therefore both en- 
listed in securing a punctual performance of this 
pious obligation. It is an expensive duty, and the 
burden often falls where it is least able to be borne. 

The poor widow, believing, as she is taught, that 
masses can relieve the condition of her deceased 
child, mitigate its sufferings, and hasten its transit 
from purifying flames to perfect bliss, parts with her 
last shilling, as well she may, and even sells her 
mourning weeds for this purpose. The author of 
" Three years in the Pacific" says : — " I saw in Pi- 
sco an Indian boy, who had been sold by the curate 
in one of the interior provinces, to pay for the requi- 
site number of masses for the rest of his father's 
soul !" There is a company in Lima, instituted un- 
der the sanction of the archbishop, which engages, 
for the consideration of a real a week from any poor 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 291 

family, to purchase, at the death of a member of the 
household, a sufficient number of masses to liberate 
the deceased from the pains of purgatory. This 
company has a hundred applicants where the life- 
insurance corporation has one. Masses for the dead, 
claiming as they do to reach the condition of the de- 
parted soul, cast into insignificance every thing this 
side of their object, and leave nothing for a supersti- 
tious faith to desire beyond it. The human imagina- 
tion cannot conceive of a more tremendous eccle- 
siastical engine. 

Thursday, May 7. The pleasures of our visit to 
Lima were not a little enhanced by the arrangements 
and hospitalities of Commodore Stockton. He took 
ample apartments in the elegant hotel which opens 
on the grand plaza, where he had his own table and 
attendants. We met here not only the officers of 
the Congress, but the first gentlemen in Lima. These 
entertainments were free of ostentation, and that 
parade in which the heart is lost in the forms of 
etiquette, and were on a scale in keeping with the 
rank and ample means of the individual who dis- 
pensed them. They have had the effect not only to 
strengthen friendship among ourselves, but to win 
the good opinion and favor of those whose prominent 
position here gives them an influence over the char- 
acter of our foreign relations. 



292 DECK AND PORT. 



The gentlemen connected with the Alsop House 
have also contributed largely to the pleasures of our 
visit here. We shall long remember in connection 
with this hospitable mansion the kind attention of 
Mr. McCall, Mr. Foster, and our worthy Consul. 
Their liberality, ample means, and sterling integrity 
are a rock on which the American name may safely 
repose at Lima. 

The time had come for me to leave Lima, and 
take up my quarters again on board the Congress. 
I took a seat in the diligence just starting for Cal- 
lao, and which was already pretty full with other 
passengers. But I had the advantage of not re- 
quiring a great deal of room, and so squeezed in. 
Opposite to me sat a fat Peruvian lady, whose huge 
fan, which threatened my nose as much as her broad 
face, was in a constant dash to create a breath of 
air, while her flesh shook at every jar as if it would 
break from its moorings. Two lap-dogs, one under 
either flank, pushed out their panting noses with 
many ineffectual attempts to extricate themselves 
from the heat of their smothered condition ; but 
were rebuffed by a slap from the lady's hand, which 
was too fat to hurt them but for the massive rings 
on her fingers, in which flashed gems enough to stud 
a sultan's snuff-box. She wore no bonnet or broad 
gipsy hat to protect her from the rays of 'the sun, 
which broke through the open crevices in the roof 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 293 

of the diligence; and indeed she needed none, for 
the heavy puffs of her cigar rolled up there, and 
hung over her head in a thick floating cloud. 

On one side of me sat an officer of the Peruvian 
army, in full uniform. His chapeau, tasselled, plumed, 
and covered with gold lace, rested on his knees, and 
exposed the heavy black wig, in which each hair had 
been made to take its particular place. His thick 
coat, with its massive embroidery, was buttoned, not- 
withstanding the heat, so close over his chest and up 
to the neck, that it seemed to dispute with his stock 
the office of supporting the chin. His pantaloons, 
down which flowed a broad stream of gold lace, 
were straightened and stretched in every thread by 
the short straps under the boot, which might have 
lifted his feet from the floor, but for the ponderous 
spurs which projected far behind the heel in a shaft, 
at the end of which rattled a roller in the shape of a 
circular saw. Not a smile or emotion of any kind 
once disturbed the fixedness of his bronzed features. 
He sat crank and motionless as a statue, save the 
bony hand which now and then gave another twist 
to his moustache, which curled its horns into the 
corners of his mouth. But for this slight motion, he 
might have been taken for one of th6se old heroes 
whom Egyptian art more than three thousand years 
ago embalmed into immortality. 

On the other side of me sat a middle-agec^ native, 
25* 



294 DECK AND PORT. 



in a white fringed poncho, a large Guyaquil hat, and 
figured trowsers. An old-fashioned ring was con- 
spicuous on his finger, and the remnants of a gold 
mounting still lingered on the top of his cane. His 
features were sharp and prominent ; and he had a 
remarkable strabismus of his eyes, which seemed to 
be trying to look into each other across the bridge of 
his nose. On his knees he carried an article of 
chamber furniture, which, though manufactured of 
silver, shall be nameless here. 

Having occasion to light a cigar, which required 
the use of both his hands to manage the flint and 
steel, which he carried in his pocket, he placed the 
unmentionable, without saying a word, in the lap of 
the passenger next him, who happened to be the 
captain of an American merchantman, and who as 
quickly thrust it back on the knees of its owner, 
with the ejaculation, " Carry your own teapot." 
The eyes of the proprietor flashed fire into each 
other, but not a word was said. The officer gave 
his moustache another twist, the fat lady fanned her- 
self as before, but the two other lady passengers 
seemed to be not a little surprised at the rudeness of 
the American ; neither of them smiled, nor seemed 
to perceive the least impropriety, or the slightest 
shade of the ludicrous in the conspicuous position 
which the unmentionable occupied. With us, two 
ladies so situated, would have jumped out of the 






SKETCHES OF LIMA. 295 

stage, if not through the door, then through a 
window. 

Better at once to fly the sight, 
Than stay to perish with affright. 

Friday, May 8. We were all again on board, 
and watching for the appearance of the steamer 
from Panama. Seven months had elapsed, and we 
had received no intelligence from home, and could 
expect none now through any government mail. 
Indeed, our government has no mail arrangements 
in the Pacific. Once in two or three months a 
packet is dispatched to Chagres with a mail, which 
finds its way over the isthmus to Panama, and there 
goes soundly to sleep. For matter of reaching its 
destination, it might as well be in the moon. 

Commodore Stockton had dispatched Mr.Beale and 
Mr. Norris to the United States, with instructions to 
join him by the nearest practicable route in the Pa- 
cific. The line of steamers between the West India 
islands and Chagres, and between Panama and Cal- 
lao, had not then been completed, and it was there- 
fore extremely doubtful whether they would attempt 
to reach us by this route. The probability seemed 
to be they would take the route by New Orleans, and 
across the continent to Mazatlan, and thence to Cal- 
ifornia. 

In the midst of these doubts, the steamer threw 



296 DECK AND PORT. 



her black mass within the bright line of the horizon. 
" There she comes !" ran in quick whispers through 
the ship. As she neared us, the all-absorbing ques- 
tion was, whether the secretary of the commodore 
was in her. On this depended our last and only- 
hope of letters from home. She passed us at no 
great distance ; but we tried in vain to discover, 
through our glasses, the individual for whom we 
were looking. No sign of such a person appeared 
among the few passengers who paced her deck. I 
went below ; I had seen enough of steamers, and 
never desired to see another. The third cutter was 
called away, and directed to proceed to the steamer ; 
but that seemed only blotting out the last ray of pos- 
sibility. 

In twenty minutes, an officer rushed below with 
the surprising intelligence that the secretary of the 
commodore was in the boat alongside. I was not 
long in reaching the deck, and could hardly credit 
my own eyes when I saw him come over the gang- 
way ; and still less when he placed in my hands some 
twenty letters from my family and friends. Our ad- 
vices were within about thirty days from the United 
States. The commodore received a large mail ; Capt. 
Du Pont, and nearly all the officers, got letters from 
home. For this intelligence, with files of papers 
from the press, we were indebted to the arrangement 
of Commodore Stockton, carried through at his pri- 



SKETCHES OF LIMA. 297 

vate expense. We spent the greater part of the 
night in reading our letters and penning answers to 
them, as we were to sail the next day for the Sand- 
wich Islands. These details may not be interesting 
to some, especially those who have not been absent 
from home a week without intelligence ; but let more 
than half a year of their brief life circle round with- 
out any information, and they will appreciate the sig- 
nificance of such seeming trifles. The surest source 
of sympathy is found in an experience of the same 
calamity. 

The Incas of Peru, who invested their imperial 
sway with the mandates and sanctions of a supreme 
theocracy, are in their graves. Their palaces and 
temples remain ; and in these vast monuments are 
shrined the evidences of their departed grandeur and 
power. The solid blocks of porphyry which pave 
the great public way from Quito to Cuzco, and the 
table-land of Desaguadero, still invite the footsteps 
of the moving masses, and still roll back the sun- 
beams in showering gold. 

The dominion of the usurper who entered this peace- 
ful realm with the cross and chain, has at length been 
broken. It lies in ruins, amid penitent tokens of guilt 
and sorrow, around the sacred ashes of the Incas. The 
fiery deluge of revolution which has swept this fair 
land since, has also passed away. The calm hearts 
of two millions of freemen remain. They bend the 



298 DECK AND PORT. 



knee to no iron despotism, no consecrated pageant 
of power. They have rights which they assert in 
the unrestricted freedom of the elective franchise. 
Their progress to constitutional freedom and repose 
has been tumultuous and wild, but they are within 
sight of their goal, and will reach it as assuredly as 
the wave of the rolling deep its destined strand. 

But our anchors are up, our courses set, and we 
are away for other shores. 

Land of the Incas, fare thee well 1 

For thee my fancy twines 
A rarer, richer coronel 

Than glitters in thy mines, — 
A circlet where each jewel flings 
A ray that blasts the hope of king3. 



299 



CHAPTER X. 

PASSAGE PROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 

DETARTURE FROM CALLAO. THE RUM SMUGGLER. SUNSET. SEA-BIRDS.-— 

A SAILOR'S DEFENCE. GENERAL QUARTERS. SPIRIT RATION. THE SAIL- 
OR AND RELIGION. THE FLAG.— SAGACITY OF THE RAT. THE CLOUD. 

CALMS AND SHOWERS.— RELIGIOUS TRACTS. CONSTELLATIONS.— TRADE 

WINDS. CONDUCT OF THE CREW. — MOON IN THE ZENITH. LAY SERMON. 

FUNERAL. LAND HO ! 

« c Huzza ! for Otaheite ! was the cry, 
As stately swept the gallant vessel by, 
The breeze springs up, the lately flapping sail 
Extends its arch before the growing gale." 

Saturday, May 9. We rousted our anchors this 
afternoon from the bed in which they have slumber- 
ed for the last six weeks, and stood out to sea from 
the bay of Callao. The breeze freshened as the sun 
set, and before our mid-watch was out, only the rock 
of San Lorenzo was seen lifting its naked peaks into 
the light of the moon. 

Farewell, Callao ! I have seen quite enough of your 
destitution and dirt, your pickpockets and parrots, 
your fish and your fleas, your brats and your buz- 
zards. I wonder not that nature in sore disgust sunk 
your progenitor from the light of the sun ; and unless 
you reform, you may expect tg share the same fate. 
Through your chambers the dolphins will sport; 



300 DECK AND PORT. 



your forsaken harps will thrill beneath the wild fin- 
gers of the mermaid, while, far above, the hoarse 
wave pours on the rocks your death-dirge. The 
sea-gull only will know the place of your rest, and 
only the poor pelican mourn that you are not. 

Sunday, May 10. Divine service : officers and 
crew all present. Subject of the sermon, the temp- 
tations of the sailor. A chaplain in the navy has 
one advantage over his brethren on land. He has 
his parishioners in the most compact of all possible 
forms, and every one present when he officiates. In 
makins his official visits he has not to ride around 
among five hundred families located at all points of 
the compass. He cannot stir without coming in 
contact with them. But he has this disadvantage ; 
in the vicissitudes of a sea life they are extremely 
apt to break away from his constraining influence. 
They may be brought back again, but it is too often 
through the deepest self-inflicted humiliation. 

I was called down from Lima to see a sailor who 
was supposed to be dying. As I came to the ham- 
mock in which he was lying, he told me he did not 
think he should live, and that he felt unfit to die. 
He made a free and frank confession of the errors of 
his life, and desired me to pray that he might be for- 
given. I tried to lead his thoughts to the cross and 
to the fountain of Christ's blood. To these his con- 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 301 

trition and solicitude quickly turned. He seemed 
not to doubt, in his infinite need, their full sufficiency. 
I prayed with him ; he earnestly responded, and so 
did his messmates, who stood silently grouped about 
his hammock. Sailors well know what is involved 
in that awful transition which we undergo in death. 
They never trifle with the event itself, however heed- 
less they may be in the indulgences which lead to it. 

Monday, May 11. We have a fine, steady wind 
♦ on our larboard quarter. It has carried us, with the 
aid of a strong current, during the last twenty-four 
hours, two hundred and sixty miles. This good for- 
tune, however, cannot last. We must part with the 
wind as we approach the equator, and perhaps before. 
But sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. It is 
much wiser rightly to enjoy the blessings of the 
present, than to yield ourselves to anxieties about the 
contingencies of the future. 

We have a beautiful sunset. The air is serene, 
and the blue circle of the sky rests in tranquil soft- 
ness on the utmost verge of the ocean. The whole 
realm of waters seems cradled in its limitless sweep. 
The rays of the descending orb lie along the gently 
heaving billows in lines of level light. The clouds 
which o'ercanopy his couch of repose, are robed in 
purple and gold; while the long vistas which open 
through them, seem as soft avenues to the spirit-land. 

26 



302 DECK AND PORT. 

" Methinks it were no pain to die, 
On such an eve, when such a sky 

O'ercanopies the West. 
To gaze my fill on yon calm deep, 
And, like an infant, fall to sleep 

On earth, my mother's breast. 

" There's peace and welcome in yon sea 
Of endless blue tranquillity. 

The clouds are living things ; 
I trace their veins of liquid gold, 
T see them solemnly unfold 

Their soft and fleecy wings. 

" These be the angels that convey 
Us weary children of a day — 

Life's tedious journey o'er— 
"Where neither passions come, nor woes, 
To vex the genius of repose 

On Death's majestic shore." 

Tuesday, May 12. We have now leisure to look 
back as well as forward. Our crew conducted them- 
selves remarkably well at Callao. Our boats were 
in constant communication with the shore, without 
an officer in them. And yet, during six weeks, no 
disturbances took place, and only one or two cases oi 
intoxication occurred. One attempt was made by a 
hand in the third cutter to smuggle off a skin of rum. 
It was discovered by the officer who overhauled the 
boat as she came alongside. An effort was made to 
find its owner, but no one would acknowledge the ill- 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 303 

gotten thing. As the crew of the boat must have 
been cognizant of the fact, they were informed by 
Capt. Du Pont, that unless the name of the offender 
was given up, they would all be punished. They 
were given an hour to decide what should be done. 
Before its expiration three of the crew gave in the 
name of the smuggler; and he paid the penalty, 
which involved a loss of the contraband article and 
the infliction of a severe chastisement. We have no 
laws with us which are a dead letter. 

Wednesday, May 13. Our wind has veered still 
further aft, and consequently fills fewer of our sails ; 
but we are running before it at the rate of nine and 
ten knots the hour. The sky is covered with light, 
fleecy clouds, through which the sun's rays melt 
without any intensity of light. The ocean has a 
long, undulating swing, like that of some vast mass 
which has been seeking for ages to rock itself to 
rest, but is prevented by some invisible power that 
has decreed against its repose. 

Thirty more of the Crew to-day voluntarily relin- 
quished their spirit-ration. They considered it a 
source of mischief. A sailor attached to one of our 
frigates was court-martialed for an attempt to break 
open the spirit-room. His defence before the court 
was ingenious, to say the least of it. The govern- 
ment, he said, had given him two tots of grog during 



304 DECK AND PORT. 



the day, and a third by way of splicing the main- 
brace. The wardroom steward had given him, for 
some service he had rendered, two more, and these 
five had made him crazy. It was not him, he said, 
but the whisky which was in him that had made the 
assault on the spirit-room. And now, as the govern- 
ment had administered to him more than half of this 
whisky, the government should bear half the respon- 
sibility of the offence. He therefore prayed that one 
half of the lashes which this offence merited might 
be given to the government, and the other half he 
would take himself. 

There is a volume of argument, in this defence, 
against the whisky-ration. It is a shame for the 
government to render a sailor half intoxicated, and 
then punish him for becoming wholly so. It is the 
first glass, and not the last, on which your indigna- 
tion should light. This whisky-ration has done evil 
enough in the service ; let it be consigned to perdi 
tion, where it belongs. 

Thursday, May 14. The birds which followed us 
from the coast have returned ; but several boobies, 
who had probably lost their reckoning, circled around 
our masts at sunset. As twilight deepened, they 
perched on our yards, and were in a few minutes 
sound asleep. They might have been easily cap- 
tured, but sailors are not very partial to such tro- 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 305 

phies. There is something in their name which they 
do not like, and which seems to react on the valor 
of the captor. Give them a tiger, and they will storm 
his jungle with only such weapons as they can pick 
up on the way. But a booby, that can harm no one, 
and whose stupidity seems to have suggested his 
name, is allowed to go unmolested. The weakest 
man in the community has generally the fewest de- 
tractors, while an intellectual giant will always have 
a pack at his heels. There is more honor in striking 
at a lion, than there is in killing a monkey. 

Friday, May 15. The sick sailor whom I came 
down from Lima to see, has passed the crisis of his 
disease, and may recover. He fluttered for some 
time between life and death. The vital flame seemed 
to come and go as a thing apart from him. But now 
its ray is more bright and steady. He is an orphan, 
without father or mother ; but has a sister, to whom 
he is much attached. The idea of being permitted 
to see her again, is almost too much for his exhaust- 
ed state. If you would get at the true character ot 
the sailor, you must visit him in his sickness. His 
better feelings then gush out over the asperities of 
his lot, like a spring from amid the tangled shrubs ot 
the wildwood. 

Saturday, May 16. We went to general quarters 
26* 



306 DECK AND PORT. 



this morning at three bells, and exercised the guns. 
Those on the main-deck are so heavy, they require 
a prodigious outlay of strength to work them. Any 
irregularity in the application of the force frustrates 
all dexterity of movement ; each man must forego 
all individual volition, independent action, and be- 
come a part of the mechanism which is to be tasked 
to the utmost as a whole ; and yet he must have all 
that enthusiasm which is felt in freedom from con- 
straint, and when the strong impulses of the soul 
throw themselves off in resistless action. It is much 
easier to slash away gallantly with the sabre, than to 
train quickly and accurately on the enemy a forty- 
four-pounder. This requires self-possession, and in- 
domitable firmness. Sailors have no retreat. They 
must conquer, die, or surrender. The last they 
would seldom do, were it not forced upon them by 
the laws of humanity. They would sooner die, as 
boarders, on the deck of the enemy, than survive, as 
captives, over their own keel. 

Sunday, May 17. Divine service : subject of the 
sermon, the influence of religion on a man's intellec- 
tual character. The object of the speaker was to 
show that religion aids mental development, — that 
•while it strikes down pride, it imparts true dignity. 
Nothing can be more absurd than the idea, that reli- 
gion impairs strength of character. It invests even 



PASSAGE FDOM 1 CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 307 

the timid with a firmness and force which stand un- 
dismayed amid dungeons, racks, and flaming stakes. 
To possess the religious character seems to the 
sailor such a vast stride in advance of his ordinary 
habits, that he is extremely diffident in preferring his 
humble claims. He will pray when peril presses, 
for he thinks a wicked man may do that, but he con- 
nects a worthy profession of personal piety with a 
degree of sanctity hardly compatible with the infirm- 
ities of his nature. He has rarely enjoyed the ad- 
vantages of a religious education ; no moral training 
has gradually introduced him to the sanctities of the 
Christian life. The utmost that he feels himself fit 
to do is, like the poor publican, to smite upon his 
breast, and exclaim, " God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner!" But to take his place among those whose 
piety is to guide and animate others, is to him as if 
a lost star were to spring out of the depths of dark- 
ness, and take its station among the burning con- 
stellations of heaven. When therefore he does avow 
his religious faith and hopes, it is generally with him 
no halfway measure ; no decent compromise be- 
tween conscience and inclination. He takes with 
him his all for this world and the next. 

Monday, May 18. The phrase "fickle as the wind" 
is not applicable to the trades of the Pacific. The 
wind before which we are running has hardly veered 



308 DECK AND PORT. 



a point for the last week. I commend its steadiness 
to those politicians who find it necessary every few 
months to define their position. 

We have had about our ship this afternoon several 
sea-birds, to which sailors have given the name of 
boatswains. They have a long feather in their tail ; 
which streams behind them like the train of a duchess 
at court. But it answers a much wiser purpose, for 
instead of embarrassing motion, it acts as a rudder, 
and steadies the bird in navigating the aerial cur- 
rents. Nature never bestows any useless append- 
ages. These are the achievements of human vanity ; 
and sorry achievements they are. They even enter 
the grave, and mock with their tinsel its awful reality. 

Tuesday, May 19. We have had through the 
day a soft, hazy atmosphere. At sunset these light, 
floating vapors gathered themselves into more sub- 
stantial clouds, and promised a shower. But after 
hanging on the horizon for a time, they seemed to. 
sink below its rim. The moon came up late ; her 
soft light fell on the sea, but the wings of the clouds, 
if touched by the effulgence, were invisible. The 
wind, though of sufficient force to carry us on some 
eight knots, scarcely agitated the breast of the ocean. 
It seemed as something intended to move over its 
level plain and not to disturb its depths. It was like a 
shadow gliding over the tops of a vast sleeping forest. 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 309 

Wednesday, May 20. Our gun-carriages, with 
their black paint on a white ground, could never be 
made to look neat for any length of time. The white 
was perpetually working itself through its sable cov- 
ering, like an inborn levity of heart through an as- 
sumed gravity of demeanor. Our captain and first 
lieutenant, who have an acknowledged taste in every 
thing that belongs to the appearance of a man-of- 
war, ordered the carriages thoroughly scraped of 
every particle of paint. A dark stain was then 
given to the wood, through which the grain shows 
itself in its native strength. Over this a thin varnish 
of spirit and oil was spread, imparting to the wood a 
beautiful polish, and blending itself with its texture. 
The battery of a frigate, especially as you come upon 
her gun-deck, is that which first strikes the eye. Like 
the pulpit ot a church, if forlorn in its appearance, 
elegance elsewhere will not retrieve the error. A 
rough pulpit may have thunder in it, but the thunder 
don't lie in its roughness. 

Thursday, May 21. One of our quarter-masters 
has just finished a new and splendid flag, which we 
shall display at the islands. How profound the love 
and reverence of the sailor for his flag ! He con- 
nects with it, as it streams in freedom and light on 
the wind, a thousand glorious memories. It points 
to crimson waves where his comrades of the deck 



310 DECK AND PORT. 



have triumphed or sunk overpowered to their rest. 
He holds the deepest crime to be that of treason to 
its obligations and sacred hopes. He would surren- 
der it only to the King of kings. 

The last words of the late Commodore Hull were 
addressed to the stern majesty of Death. 



I strike not to a sceptred king — ■ 

A man of mortal breath — 
A weak, imperious, fickle thing ; 

I strike to thee, Death 1 

I strike that flag which in the fight 

The trust of millions hailed, 
The flag which threw its meteor light 

Where England's lion quailed. 

I strike to thee, whose mandates fall 

Alike on king and slave, 
"Whose livery is the shroud and pall, 

And palace-court the grave. 

Thy captives crowd the caverned earth, 

They fill the rolling sea, 
From court and camp, the wave and hearth, 

All, all have bowed to thee. 

But thou, stern Death, must yet resign 

Thy sceptre o'er this dust ; 
The Power that makes the mortal thine, 

Will yet remand his trust. 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 311 

His signal trump shall pierce this ear 

Beneath the grave's cold clod — 
This form, these features reappear 

In life before their God. 

Friday, May 22. I was sitting at a late hour last 
evening on the gun-deck to catch the breeze, which 
came freshly through the larboard ports, when a 
large, sleek, long-tailed rat, with a slow, aristocratic 
step, approached the combings of the hatch, which 
he mounted, and then deliberately descended into the 
steerage among the junior officers. What his errand 
was there, I know not ; but there was a dignity and 
self-possession in his demeanor which was admirable. 
He seemed as one conscious of his rights, and not at 
all disposed to waive them. I have always felt some 
regard for a rat since my cruise in the Constellation. 
We were fitting for sea at Norfolk, and taking in 
water and provisions ; a plank was resting on the sill 
of one of the ports which communicated with the 
wharf. On a bright moonlight evening, we discovered 
two rats on the plank coming into the ship. The 
foremost was leading the other by a straw, one end 
of which each held in his mouth. We managed to 
capture them both, and found, to our surprise, the 
one led by the other was stone-blind. His faithful 
friend was trying to get him on board, where he 
would have comfortable quarters during a three 
years' cruise. We felt no disposition to kill either, 



312 DECK AND PORT. 



and landed them on the wharf. How many there 
are in this world to whom the fidelity of that rat 
readeth a lesson! 

Saturday, May 23. We have now been out four- 
teen days from Callao, and have sailed two thousand 
eight hundred miles, making an average of two hun- 
dred miles a day. Not a squall, nor a threatening 
cloud, have we encountered; nor have we once 
furled our royals, or taken in our studding-sails. The 
wind has been, with scarce a point's variation, dead 
aft ; and has maintained an equanimity which the 
most serene philosophical temper can scarcely hope 
to rival. Contentment, cheerfulness, and alacrity 
have been everywhere visible among the crew. Not 
an offence has been committed which has received or 
merited punishment. Such is our condition in the 
midst of the Pacific — under the influence of its balmy 
airs — and under a discipline in which justice and hu- 
manity are admirably blended. We have yet to sail 
some twenty-eight hundred miles before w T e make 
our port. The distance between Callao and the 
Sandwich Islands is about twice as great as that be- 
tween New York and Liverpool. Yet we all remem- 
ber the time when a man bound to Liverpool, or 
London, took leave of his friends with a sadness and 
solemnity, which augured a dismal doubt of his re- 
turn. 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 313 

Sunday, May 24. Though we are near the Equa- 
tor, where the weather is apt to be variable, yet we 
have had a delightful day, a brilliant sky, a smooth 
sea, and a mild aft wind. We had divine service at 
six bells. The subject of the discourse was, the ex- 
ample of the primitive Christians, — their faith, their 
zeal, their constancy, their sufferings, their triumphs. 
They are a cloud of witnesses who have gone before 
us to heaven, but they have left their footprints on 
the shores of time. The example of their faith and 
constancy remains for our imitation. 

Every man, however humble his sphere, may be, 
and ought to be, in his own life a preacher of righte- 
ousness. A religious example, wherever found, is 
invested with a prodigious moral power. Such an 
example is within the reach of every one on the 
decks of a man-of-war ; and there is no situation 
where its effects would be more certain. We are as 
responsible for the good which we can do, as the 
evil which we have done. The man who had one 
talent was condemned, not because he had only one 
talent, but because he hid that talent in the earth. 

Monday, May 25. We crossed the Equator last 
night in our first watch, at longitude one hundred 
and twenty west. We crossed it first on our way 
to Rio de Janeiro ; since that we have sailed through 
one hundred and twenty degrees of latitude, and al- 

27 



314 DECK AND PORT. 



most as many degrees of temperature. At Rio we 
were melted down with the heat ; off Cape Horn 
our fingers were stiffened with the cold ; and now 
the most grateful gift in the world would be a glass 
of ice-water. Such extremes of temperature are the 
more felt in the exposures inseparable from a sea-life. 
We have on board ship.no forests into which we can 
rush from the heat ; no glowing grates, around which 
we can gather from the cold. We must take the 
elements, whatever they may be, in their full force. 
They shatter the constitution ; and sink a grave in 
the sailor's path, over which he rarely passes to a 
green old age. 

Tuesday, May 26. Clouds hung in thick masses 
on the eastern horizon this morning. They had not 
that jagged outline, which in other seas indicates a 
severe blow. They loomed up lazily, as if they 
knew not themselves for what purpose their dark 
forms had been shoved between us and the splendors 
of the breaking day. We supposed they were charged 
with showers, and watched their motions with some 
interest. But the higher they ascended, the thinner 
they became, till at last they gradually melted away, 
and left only the soft over-arching sky. But they 
may gather themselves another morn, each take a 
distinct shape, and utter its satirical soliloquy, like 
the cloud of Shelley :— - 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 315 



I am the daughter of earth and water, 

And the nursling of the sky ; 
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores ; 

I change, but I cannot die. 
For after the rain, when with never a stain, 

The pavilion of heaven is bare, 
And the winds and the sunbeams, with their convex gleams, 

Build up the blue dome of air, 
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, 

And out of the caverns of rain, 
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, 

I arise and unbuild it again. 

Wednesday, May 27. We have been becalmed 
all day between the northeast and northwest trades. 
The ocean has slumbered around us with scarce a 
ripple. A large shark was seen hanging around our 
ship through the morning. A strong hook, attached 
to a rope and baited with a pound or two of pork, 
was drifted astern. He nabbed it as a famishing 
politician an office. He was a monster in strength 
as well as size, and made the sea foam with his strug- 
gles to break away. It required four or five sailors 
to draw him in ; and when on deck he cleared a 
pretty broad circle by his ferocious sweep. But he 
was soon overmastered, deprived of his head and tail 
by the axe, and cut up into pieces accommodated to 
the sailors' culinary apparatus. Many, as they ate 
him, derived their keenest relish from their inherited 
antipathy to his species. 



316 DECK AND PORT. 



Thursday, May 28. We have had through the 
day scarce a breath of wind ; the thermometer has 
ranged at 85 ; the heat below has been quite insup- 
portable. The sun set through a thick, stagnant 
atmosphere ; our sails hung" motionless, save an occa- 
sional flap against the mast, given them by the slug- 
gish swing of the ship. This continued till six bells 
of the first watch, when the rain fell in a perfect 
deluge. The water formed an instant lake between 
the bulwarks of the spar-deck, fell through the hatches, 
and flooded us below. It was some minutes before 
the hatches could be hooded ; and when they were, 
our last breath of fresh air was shut out. We con- 
tinued in this situation through the night. The sun 
rose into a dim, murky haze, in which his beams 
were quenched long before they reached our position. 

Friday, May 29. The most gorgeous sunsets I 
hare ever witnessed at sea have been near the equa- 
tor. We have just been watching one from the 
deck ; all eyes were fastened upon its magnificent 
phases. The whole west appeared at first as if it had 
lost its steep wall, and seemed to stretch away like a 
limitless prairie in conflagration. It changed and 
presented itself as a wild, picturesque landscape ; 
mountain forests were on fire, throwing their lurid 
flames upon the rushing torrents, and into the deep 
ravines, and upon the sleeping lakes It changed 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 317 

again, and poured its splendors upon the bastions, 
domes, and turrets of a vast city. Princely palaces, 
columned temples, and monumental pyramids, soared 
into a crimson atmosphere. A rushing wind swept 
the aerial structures, and over their gigantic ruins 
rolled an ocean of flame. If this be sunset, what will 
that conflagration be which will at last wrap the 
world ! 

* 
Saturday, May 30. We have been in a calm the 

greater part of the day. The mirror of the ocean 
has been broken only by the plunges of a huge whale. 
He rose at times within a few fathoms of our ship, 
blowing the brine almost into the faces of our crew. 
They would, if permitted, have retaliated with their 
harpoons ; though the result would have been only 
the loss of their weapons, for the monster would have 
carried them off* with as much ease as Samson the 
bodkins of Delilah. He tumbled around us for several 
hours, as if measuring his size and strength with that 
of our frigate. At last, with one great heave, made 
as if in pride and scorn, he plunged and disappeared. 
Long life to him. I like his independent bearing. 

One of our seamen got tipsy to-day, and raised a 
disturbance on the berth-deck. How he managed to 
get a double dose from the grog-tub is not known. 
And yet he alleges his liquor came from that nuisance 
which the law has sanctioned. I have taken some 
27* 



318 DECK AND PORT. 



pains, during the long period that I have been in the 
navy, to ascertain the causes of the offences which 
have called for punishment; and from these inquiries 
I am clearly of the opinion, that these offences, in 
nine cases out of ten, are connected with ardent 
spirits ; and are committed, in almost every case, by 
those who draw the whisky-ration provided by the 
government. I am clear in the conviction, that any 
statutes intended to restrain or punish intoxication 
in a national ship, must be without moral force so 
long as our legislation panders to this appetite in the 
sailor. The government presents itself before the 
seaman with a cup of whisky in one hand and a cat- 
o'-nine tails in the other. Here, my good fellow, 
drink this ; but if you drink any more, then look out 
for these, cats. It is amazing that such a flagrant 
violation of every principle of justice and humanity 
should escape the reprobation and even oblique ani- 
madversion of the department, and be left to the re- 
monstrances of those who hold no official relation to 
the navy. 

Sunday, May 31. Ill health has disqualified me 
for performing service to-day. Indeed it would have 
been difficult had I been well, as the rain has been 
falling in frequent and copious showers, attended by 
squalls, which have obliged us to take in our lighter 
sails about as soon as they were set. I gave tracts 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 319 

to the crew who called for. them, and nearly all ap- 
plied. Every chaplain should supply himself with a 
good store of these silent preachers. They help him 
on in his good work. They will be read by seamen 
when more labored efforts would be neglected. Many 
a sailor owes his conversion to the modest tract. 
They have poured a steady light around his dying 
hammock which had else been wrapped in darkness. 
The brightest triumphs of religion are found nearest 
the grave. Its last great triumph will be over death 
itself. 

* There has been for some weeks past a growing 
seriousness among our sailors. The indications are 
too obvious to be mistaken. Two or three of them 
I have reason to believe have experienced religion. 
They meet every night and pray for the conversion 
of others. This little cloud may yet extend itself, 
and its drops may fall in a copious shower. Let us 
have confidence in the power of God's grace. 

Monday, June 1. The northern constellations 
which have been lost to us for several months, now 
that we have recrossed the equator, begin to emerge 
into vision. They come back like old, tried friends, 
whose fidelity time cannot chill or distance impair. 
Man may change, but nature never. The same look 
of love which she cast upon our cradles she will cast 
upon our graves. The same exulting streams, whose 



320 DECK AND PORT. 



melodies charmed our childhood, will at last roll 
among the echoing hills our loud requiem ; while 
the gentle dews steep with tears the flowers which 
spring shall sprinkle around our place of rest. But 
yonder streams upon us again the constellations of 
our youth. 

" The northern team, 
And great Orion's more refulgent beam, 
To which, around the axle of the sky, 
The Bear, revolving, turns his golden eye." 

Tuesday, June 2. The northwest trades brought 
us on briskly till within a few degrees of that point 
where we crossed the equator. We there fell into 
calms, light baffling winds, and tremendous falls of 
rain. We were several days working our way 
through these to the seventh degree, north latitude, 
where we took the northeast trades, and we are now 
running ten and eleven knots the hour. These 
trades blow obliquely to the equator, and prevail 
with a surprising regularity and force. A ship 
bound to the Sandwich Islands, as we are, should 
make the shortest cut across the variables. When 
the northwest trades leave her, in consequence of her 
proximity to the line, she should take advantage of 
every puff of wind to make northing, till she gains 
the northeast,, trades. She may run a little further, 
it is true, byUhis course, but she more than makes it 
up by her ultimate speed ; and she escapes, by the 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 321 

shortest route, the extremely disagreeable weather 
which prevails near the equator. 

Wednesday, June 3. A large flying-fish flew this 
evening into the cabin, through one of the side ports. 
It was rather a difficult achievement, as we were 
running ten knots. The little fellow had been at- 
tracted by the light, and flew at it, as the mullet in 
our southern streams leap at night into the lighted 
canoes of the negroes. Our flying-fish made a bad 
exchange, not out of the frying-pan into the fire, it is 
true, but out of the water into* the frying-pan. But 
then he was dazzled, captivated by a floating light, 
gave chase, and came to ruin. It is ever thus with 
man ; his life is an eager chase after some false light, 
some ignis fatuus of his imagination, which leads him 
on till at last he drops into his grave and disappears 
forever. 

Thursday, June 4. We have the chart used by 
the frigate United States in her passage from Callao 
to Honolulu, on which her route is designated, and 
the distance which she ran each day dotted down. 
Up to the equator, we ran neck and neck with her. 
In the variables she got ahead of us ; but we have 
now left her some three hundred miles astern. We 
have been making an average of two hundred and 
forty miles a day, without motion enough to shake 



322 DECK AND PORT. 



a dew-drop from its level leaf. We have not had, 
except for a few days near the equator, occasion to 
take 'in our top-gallant studding-sails. The ther- 
mometer has stood pretty steady at about seventy- 
five, and the air is pure and bracing. If we reach 
our port on Monday next, which we have now a fair 
prospect of doing, we shall have made our passage 
from Callao in twenty-nine days ; one of the very 
shortest passages on record. Five thousand four 
hundred miles in twenty-nine days ! That will do. 

Friday, June 5. We have the moon again direct- 
ly in the zenith ; she hangs there like a resplendent 
orb in the centre of a magnificent dome. The stars 
gleam out with timid auxiliary light; while soft 
clouds float with incense from earth's thousand al- 
tars. The dome, beneath which the turbaned repre- 
sentative of the Prophet kneels, and that which bends 
in grandeur over the supplicating form of the papal 
hierarch, are poor when compared with this. The 
walls of St. Sophia will crumble, and the pillars of 
St. Peter's give way, but nature's great dome will still 
stand, brilliant and undecaying, as when it echoed 
the song of the morning stars over the birth of our 
planet ; and it will stand the same, 

" Till wrapp'd in flames the realms of ether glow, 
And heaven's last thunder shakes the world below." 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HO. T ~ LULU. 323 



Saturday, June 6. We have in the sich-bay a 
sailor, James Mills, who must die. He may survive 
a few days longer, and must then go. He is in the 
prime of life, and a few months ago ranked among 
the most athletic on our decks. He is now but the 
shadow of the past, and hovers dimly on the verge 
of life. The night of that narrow house is not all 
dark to him ; some rays of light reach it from the 
Cross. These are now all that can cheer him ; they 
are all that can cheer the descending footsteps of the 
proudest monarch. Into death's domain the honors 
and friendships of earth cannot enter ; they leave 
their possessor in the hour of his utmost need. But 
there is One whose love will remain with the meek, 
when these depart ; One whose smile will kindle up 
a morn even in the night of the*grave. 

Sunday, June 7. Commodore Stockton, who has 
always taken an interest in our religious exercises, 
having occasion to speak to the crew to-day, I in- 
duced him to extend his remarks to ^topics more 
sacred than those which lay within his original 
purpose. He spoke of the Bible as that crowning 
revelation which God has made of himself to man, 
of its elevating influences on the human soul, of the 
priceless counsels which it conveys, and the immor- 
tal hopes which it awakens. He contrasted the 
gloomy condition of those tribes and nations which 



324 DECK AND PORT. 



were without it with that of those where its steady- 
light shone, and found in this contrast a vindication 
of its divinity, which none could gainsay or resist. 
He commended its habitual study to the officers and 
crew as our only infallible rule of duty, as our only 
safe-guiding light in the mental and moral twilight 
of our being here. He rebuked the idea that religion 
was out of its element among sailors, and told them 
that of all classes of men they were the one that 
most needed its restraining influences and glorious 
promises, and denounced as insane a disposition to 
trifle with its precepts. He commended the good 
conduct of the crew on the Sabbath, and expressed 
the earnest hope, that they would continue, in the 
event of probable separation from them, the same 
respectful and earnest regard for the duties of re- 
ligion. 

Such remarks as these, coming from the command* 
er of a ship or squadron, will do more to sustain a 
chaplain in the discharge of his difficult duties than 
any privileges which can be conferred upon him 
through the provisions of law. They honor the 
heart from which they flow, and their influence will 
be felt in the moral well-being of hundreds, when that 
heart shall have ceased to beat. The tree you have 
planted will grow, and its fruit come to maturity, 
though you see it not. 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 325 



Monday, June 8. At seven bells of our forenoon 
watch the call of the boatswain, " All hands to bury 
the dead !" rolled its hoarse, deep tones through the 
ship. The remains of the deceased — wrapped in 
that hammock from which he had often sprung as 
his night-watch came round — was borne by his mess- 
mates up the main-hatch, and around the capstan, to 
the slow measures of the dead march, played by the 
band. In the starboard waist, and on a plank, one 
end of which rested on the sill of an open port, the 
relic reposed, till in the funeral service the words 
were announced, " We commit this body to the deep ;" 
— the inner end of the plank was then lifted, and 
the hammocked dead, with a hoarse, rumbling sound, 
glided down to his deep floating grave. Thus passed 
poor Mills from our midst in the morning of his days, 
with broken purposes and blighted hopes. Though 
the wave rolls over his form, and none can point to 
the place of his rest, his humble virtues still survive 
in the recollections of those who knew him. 

" The departed ! the departed ! 
They visit us in dreams, 
And glide above our memories 
Like shadows over streams. 
The good, the brave, the beautiful, 

Hovr dreamless is their sleep, 
Where rolls the dirge-like music 
Of the ever-tossing deep 1" 
28 



326 DECK AND PORT. 



Tuesday,. June 9. Last evening, while it was yet 
some three hours to sunset, the cry of "Land ho!" 
rang from mast-head. It was the island of Hawaii 
boldly breaking the line of the horizon over our lar- 
board bow. We were now near our port, but not 
sufficiently near to reach our anchorage by day- 
light. We were running ten knots, and orders were 
given to take in sail, that we might not shoot too far 
ahead. 

Night, and the hour of slumber came on, and our 
dreams were filled with the flowers and fruit of 
sunny isles. Day broke over the steeps of Oahu, 
and threw its light into the port of Honolulu. 
Here at last we let go our anchors, and once more 
clewed up our sails. We had made one of the short- 
est passages on record from Callao. We had run 
for the last seven days an average of two hundred 
and thirty-five miles. We had sailed about six thou- 
sand miles, and had hardly disturbed a royal or 
studding-sail, and the sea had been smooth as the 
slumbering surface of an inland lake. Give me the 
Pacific and the trade winds. You have here a quiet 
ocean, a steady breeze, and an even temperature. 
In the Atlantic you are in squalls or calms ; in the 
one you plunge about,, and in the other you sleep. 

Here we are to part with our passengers, Mr. Ten 
Eyk, our commissioner to the Sandwich Islands, with 
his lady, children, and Miss J ; and with Judge 



PASSAGE FROM CALLAO TO HONOLULU. 327 

Turrell, our consul to these islands, with his lady, 
children, and Mr. H. They have been with us since 
we sailed from Norfolk. Their society has helped to 
relieve the monotony of a sea life. They have mani- 
fested no impatience at our delays, and have cheer- 
fully conformed, in all respects, to the usages of a 
man-of-war. The consequence has been, an unin- 
terrupted harmony between them and the officers, 
and an interchange of all those civilities on which 
the happiness of our social condition depends. They 
are to be landed under the salute to which their rank 
entitles them. They carry with them our esteem 
and our best wishes. May a kind Providence be 
their guardian and friend. 

" Farewell ! a word that may be and hath been, 
A sound that makes us linger— yet, farewell 1" 



S 



328 



CHAPTER XI. 

SKETCHES OP HONOLULU. 

BAT OF HONOLULU. KANACKA FUNERAL. — THE MISSIONARIES. HUTS AND 

HABITS OF THE NATIVES. — TARO-PLANT. — ROAST DOG. — SCHOOL OF THE 

YOUNG CHIEFS. — RIDE IN THE COUNTRY. THE MAUSOLEUM. COCOANUT- 

TREE. — CANOES. HEATHEN TEMPLE. — KING'S CHAPEL. — RIDE TO EWA. 

FATHER BISHOP.— HIS SABLE FLOCK. 

Wednesday, June 10. The bay of Honolulu is 
only a bend in the shore. About a mile from the 
strand, a coral reef emerges, over which the rollers 
pour their perpetual surge. Through this reef, na- 
ture has left a narrow passage, which admits smaller 
vessels, but a ship of our depth is obliged to anchor 
outside, and nearly two miles distant from the shore. 

The right extremity of the bay, as you enter it, is 
guarded by the steep cone of an exhausted volcano, 
which has taken the less terrific name of Diamond 
Hill. The left is defended by a bold bluff, which 
shoulders its way, with savage ferocity, into the roar- 
ing sea. The town of Honolulu stretches along the 
interval, while close, in the background soars the 
wild crater of another extinguished volcano, under 
the bewildering name of the Punch-Bowl. The 
steeps beyond are broken into deep ravines, which 
wind off in rich verdure into the heart of the island. 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 329 

On its mountain crags the boldest eagle might build ; 
in its glens the callow cygnet slumber. 

While I was inquiring for a good hotel, the Rev. 
Mr. Damon, seamen's chaplain at this port, came on 
board, and invited me to take quarters with him, an 
invitation which I cheerfully accepted. Months of 
boxing about at sea give a charm to the land-berth, 
which only they can fully appreciate who slumber 
over keels. On landing, my trunk was claimed by 
some twenty boys and porters. In the general strife 
I gave it to the one who appeared to need a shilling 
the most. His fellows took their disappointment in 
good humor. A short walk brought me to the domi- 
cile of my friend, where an agreeable lady welcomed 
me in. 

Thursday, June 11. I had only seated myself in 
my new abode, when Mr. Damon invited me to ac- 
company him to a funeral. The deceased was a 
foreigner, of some popularity among the natives, who 
attended his remains in large numbers to his grave. 
They were all on foot, moving in silent, but tumult- 
uous order. There was no solemnity in their mo- 
tions, but a subdued air in their faces. Some were 
helping along those who were bowed with the infirm- 
ities of age, and others were carrying piping infants 
in their arms, lashed to their backs. 

The burial-ground is a mile, or more, from the 
28* 



330 DECK AND PORT. 



town, on a slight elevation, fenced in and shaded 
with native trees. Here the procession halted, and 
gathered in dark, silent masses around a new-dug 
grave. The coffin was lowered ; a few words of ap- 
propriate admonition addressed to those around ; a 
prayer offered ; the earth returned to its place ; a 
slight mound raised ; flowers and sprigs of evergreen 
cast upon it, and the crowd wound their way back 
in the same silent disorder in which they came. 
Here was no pomp, no trappings of grief, but that 
simple homage of the heart, which bespeaks a senti- 
ment of bereavement and respect. Let others have, 
if they will, a funeral pageant, but give me rather 
that flower which grief gathers and affection plants, 
or that tear which trembles in the eye of the untu- 
tored child of nature. 

Before the missionaries introduced a change of 
customs, the natives were in the habit of expressing 
their grief, at the death of a favorite chief, by knock- 
ing out two or more of their front teeth. The 
strength of their attachment was evinced by the ex- 
tent of this dental devastation, which sometimes in- 
volved the destruction of every tooth. This is the 
reason that so few of the older inhabitants have their 
teeth entire. The missionaries substituted for this 
act of self-inflicted violence, the innocent tokens of 
bereavement, and that tribute of respect which is 
conveyed in casting on the grave a sprig of ever- 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 331 

green, as a type of the soul's immortality. Humanity 
and religion always go hand in hand. 

Friday, June 12. The morning has been passed 
in receiving calls from the missionaries. They are 
plain in their apparel, easy in their manners, and in- 
telligent in their conversation. They have none of 
that rigid solemnity, which a sectarian puts on, who 
would throw his religion into his looks ; and yet they 
are free of that lightness and triviality which are in- 
compatible with a high and earnest purpose. They 
have cheerfulness without levity, and sobriety with- 
out sternness,, They are far from being men of one 
idea ; their mental horizon is broad. They have im- 
pressed their genius upon all the social habits and 
civil institutions of the islanders among whom they 
dwell. Indeed, all that exists here, upon which the 
eye of the Christian philanthropist can dwell with 
complacency, has risen from a weltering tide of bar- 
barism, through their agency, as the islands them- 
selves have emerged from the ocean through the 
action of the volcano. 

Saturday, June 13. The nuts of the natives dot 
with a cheerful aspect the broad plain on which Hon- 
olulu stands, and stretch away into the green gorges 
of the mountains. They resemble in the distance 
ricks of hay, and you half persuade yourself that 



332 DECK AND PORT. 



you have arrived in a community of thrifty farmers. 
This impression almost flashes into conviction, when 
you see herds of cattle reposing in the valleys, and 
goats bounding among the cliffs. But the rush of 
children from the interior of these hay-stacks, and 
their prattle and laughter among the vines which 
trail their porches, soon; dispel the illusion. You 
fmd them human habitations, and possessing, in many 
instances, an air of surprising neatness and comfort. 
True, you find in them no chairs, tables, or ordina- 
ry cooking u^pnsils ; nor do the habits of the inmates 
render these articles necessary. But you find thick 
mats, on which they sleep and sit, as Adam and Eve 
did on the leaves which the autumnal wind shook 
from their bowers. They need no fireplaces, no 
glowing grate, or crackling hearth, — a broad, bright 
sun, wheeling up in splendor out of a quiet ocean, 
reigns monarch of the seasons, and tempers the air 
aright. Their apparel extends but little beyond the 
simplest requirements of the nursery. It is a gar- 
ment seemingly thrown on for the sake of modesty, 
as drapery is sometimes attached to a statue. But 
the proportions still swell in their roundness and 
strength on the eye. It was with no little difficulty 
the missionaries could persuade them to assume even 
this scanty garment. It seemed to them a super- 
fluity, suggested neither by the characteristics of the 
climate, nor sentiments of delicacy. They would 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 333 



have gone without it as readily to a church as to a 
carousal. Such is habit impressed on a people by 
the force of barbaric ages. 

Near each cot you encounter an oven, not obtru- 
ded on your eye as if to mock your hunger, but 
modestly sunk in the earth. The cavity is lined 
with stones, in which a fire is kindled ; when suffi- 
ciently heated, the embers are removed, a few taro- 
leaves thrown in, and on this the taro itself and 
meat. The whole is then covered over with taro- 
leaves and earth. The meat thus preserves its 
juices, and has an advantage in this respect over all 
modern inventions. This primitive process of cook- 
ing is called the lua. 

The most esteemed roaster, that undergoes the lua, 
is one of the canine species. It is a dog resembling 
the larger-sized poodle, with smooth hair and soft 
flesh. It is nursed at the breast of the women, and 
never allowed to eat animal food. It is 'baked entire, 
like the pig, and is said to taste very much like that 
little grunter. This is considered the most choice 
dish which an epicurean chief can present to his dis- 
tinguished guests. I was earnestly invited to partake 
of one, but the little fellow's once cheerful bark, his 
wagging tail in token of recognition, his love of chil- 
dren, his participation in their sports, his gratitude 
and unsuspecting confidence, were all too warm in 
my imagination to permit the deed. I would never 



334 DECK AND PORT. 



take life for the sake of animal food, and least of all 
the life of one that is 

" The first to welcome, foremost to defend." 

In another hut which we entered, we found the 
mother and her children seated around a large cala- 
bash, which contained poi. This is the dish on 
which the natives mostly subsist. It is made of the 
root of the taro plant, which resembles in shape the 
large beet. A plat of low ground is thrown up into 
little hills like a potatoe-patch, and water let in suffi- 
cient to fill the furrows. In these hills the taro 
grows, shaded only by its own luxuriant leaves. At 
maturity, which it reaches in a few months, the men 
and women dash into it, and, with the water ankle- 
deep, commence pulling. The bottoms, which are 
intended for consumption, are conveyed to the earth- 
oven ; being baked, they are then pounded, and wa- 
ter added till the mass assumes the consistency of 
paste. In this state it undergoes a partial fermenta- 
tion, and is then in prime order for eating. It is 
conveyed to the mouth by the two forefingers, which 
are dipped into it, and to which it adheres in a pen- 
dulous globule, which a slight shake detaches. 

This was the dish to which the mother invited us, 
and which it seemed almost discourteous to decline. 
Her little daughter exclaiming, " Mili, mili — good," 
coaxed me to let her drop a globule of it from her 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 335 

small fingers into my mouth. Down it dropped, and 
down it went, leaving only a sour taste. I tried to 
keep up a look of relish, but the effort must have be- 
trayed itself. This was the last time I attempted 
poi. On this the natives live, and their physical de- 
velopments sufficiently attest its nutritious proper- 
ties. Some of them, who are exempted by their 
. means from labor, attain a giant stature. They be- 
come extremely fat, and roll along as if bone and 
muscle were hardly equal to the task of locomotion. 
What think ye of that, ye carnivorous tribe, who 
judge of a man's bulk by the amount of roast beef 
which he consumes ! The Hawaiian outdoes ye on 
paste ! 

Sunday, June 14. I have exchanged to-day with 
Mr. Damon ; he taking the capstan of the Congress, 
and I the pulpit of the mariners' chapel. The au- 
dience both morning and evening has been large, 
leaving hardly a vacant seat. It is composed of for- 
eign residents and sailors in port. The music, led 
by a seraphine, would have been creditable in any 
place. I could hardly persuade myself that I was in 
an island of the Pacific, where but a few years since 
the homage of man rose only in howls to a pagan 
idol. 

The attendance at this chapel is the best evidence 
of the success with which Mr. Damon performs the 



336 DECK AND PORT. 



duties assigned him by the American Seamen's 
Friend Society. But his sphere of activity is not 
confined to these walls ; it extends to the moral 
wants of the different ships entering the harbor, and 
embraces also the management of a periodical devo- 
ted to seamen. This publication was eagerly sought 
by our crew. To sustain it a subscription was pro- 
posed, which was headed by a liberal donation from 
Commodore Stockton, Captain Du Pont, and the 
officers. 

Monday, June 15. There are two large churches 
for the natives in Honolulu. The services in these 
are conducted in the native language by the Rev. 
Mr. Armstrong and the Rev. Mr. Smith, both intel- 
ligent and devoted missionaries. These men and all 
their brethren occupy a difficult position in these 
islands. It is made so, less by the fickleness of the 
natives than the interference of foreigners. The 
very men who, coming as they do from civilized and 
Christian lands, should be the first to countenance 
and sustain them, are those from whom they expe- 
rience the most opposition. It seems impossible to 
avoid their cavils. If the missionaries devote them- 
selves exclusively to their spiritual duties, the com- 
plaint is, that the temporal interests of the commu- 
nity are neglected. If they interest themselves in 
the encouragement of agriculture and the mechanic 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU 337 

arts, the cry is. that they are interfering in secular 
matters which do not belong to them. Between 
these two rocks no ship can pass without having her 
copper raked off on one side or the other. 

The truth is, the missionaries are pursuing the 
only plan which can produce decisive and satisfac- 
tory results. They are inculcating the precepts and 
obligations of the Bible on all classes, and educating 
the young. Their schools embrace hundreds of na- 
tive children, who will themselves become teachers. 
[n one of these schools, which is under the superin- 
tendence of Mr. and Mrs. Cook, I found the children 
of the high chiefs, and among them the heir-appa- 
rent. They spoke the English language with entire 
freedom, and wrote it with surprising accuracy. 
Their acquirements, in all the branches of a useful 
education, would have done credit to youth of the 
same age in any country. In mental arithmetic, I 
have never seen them surpassed. They multiplied 
five decimals by five, named at random, and gave 
the result, with perfect accuracy, in less time than 
any one could possibly have reached it on a slate. 
We now adjourned with the scholars to the parlor, 
where Mrs. Cook placed one of the misses at the 
piano, while another took the guitar, and they all 
struck into a melody that might have gratified a 
more fastidious taste than ours. 

Now these are the children of the chiefs — their 
29 



338 DECK AND PORT. 



sons, and their daughters ; those whose intelligence 
and influence are to shape the destinies of these isl- 
ands. If this is not beginning at the right end of 
the business, I should like to have some one tell us 
where the right end is. 

Tuesday, June 16. My kanacka brought me his 
horse this afternoon punctual at the hour. This 
horse, a noble animal, is all his capital. I give him 
a dollar a day for the use ; can have him at any and 
all hours, though I seldom ride but once. This is 
enough, unless the showers hold up more than they 
have ; for they now fall as easily as a hasty word 
from a heated heart ; or a blow from the ferule of a 
vexed pedagogue ; or a yellow leaf from the twig of 
a blighted tree ; or a false smile from the eyes of a 
cunning coquette ; or a hollow nut from the teeth of 
a squirrel ; or a silver eel from the hand of a fisher- 
man ; or any thing else, which escapes very easily 
from its confinement. 

My fair companion being firmly in her saddle, we 
started, at an easy canter, over the plain, which 
stretches away from the eastern section of the town. 
We passed on the right the royal mausoleum, lifting 
its sombre roof over the coffins of barbaric kings. 
Before Christianity, with her silent rites, reached 
these islands, the death of a monarch or sachem was 
followed by a wail that poured itself over hill and 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 339 

vale, in a roaring tide. Then followed a scene of 
promiscuous licentiousness, from which the orbs of 
heaven might have withdrawn their light. Over these 
obscene orgies Christianity has spread her influences, 
and the dead now go quietly to their rest, and the 
living lay it to heart. 

Further on, we passed through a cocoanut-grove. 
This singular tree shoots up some fifty feet, without 
seeming to Know for what purpose ; it then suddenly 
branches out, and is so eager in this spreading busi- 
ness that it seems to lose its soaring ambition ; and 
there it stands, like a naked shaft, with its umbrella- 
shaped top. Its broad leaves hang down as if to con- 
ceal its blushes. It is naked as sin driven from its 
last subterfuge. It fain would reconcile you to its 
deformity by its milk ; but this is as insipid as its 
own look is foolish. This tree, with a half-naked 
kanacka climbing its shaft, is the most effective pic- 
ture of poverty with which I have ever met. It is, 
if possible, worse than a monkey on the sign -post of 
a groggery, beckoning to his fellow-topers to come 
in. But the decoy, in this case, wiser than the dupe, 
never drinks. 

We passed near the shore a large number of ca- 
noes, in which the natives were engaged in fishing. 
They keep them pointed towards^ the sea, and one 
person vigorously at work with the paddles, so that 
the rollers, which set in here with great force, may 



340 DECK AND PORT. 



not heave them high and dry on the beach. They 
show great skill in the management of these treach- 
erous canoes. A novice would upset one before he 
was well in. They are often themselves capsized, 
but it costs them only a ducking ; the canoe is in- 
stantly righted, and they are back again in its hol- 
low. As for the water, it is almost as much their 
element as that of the fish for which they angle. 
They can dive from ten to fifteen fathoms, and bring 
up shells ; or swim many miles without apparent fa- 
tigue. There is a native woman, now living in 
Honolulu, who, oeing wrecked at sea, swam twenty 
miles to the shore of a neighboring island. Her hus- 
band, of feebler constitution, gave out ; she buoyed 
him up, swimming with him till they had come in 
sight of the shore, when he sank overpowered. Still 
she clung to him, and brought the lifeless form to the 
beach. Give me a kanacka wife in a gale. 

Winding around a bay which circles up, with a 
rippling verge, into the mainland, we arrived at the 
blackened ruins of a celebrated heathen temple. The 
rude foundations only remain ; the superstructure 
has been swept away with the savage rites which it 
enshrined. The smoke of human victims here ap- 
peased the violated tabu, and the putrid exhalations 
of decaying beasts cancelled the turpitude of human 
guilt. But Revelation has poured its clear lightjmto 
its dark recesses. The sorcerer has fled, the victim 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 341 

been unbound, and the guilty have gone to that 
mercy-seat where penitence never pleads in vain. 

High over these fearful ruins soars the steep crater 
of an extinguished volcano, to which a capricious fan- 
cy has given the appellation of Diamond Hill. It still 
stands in all the stern ruggedness which its adaman- 
tine features assumed, when, ages since, its burning 
torrents of lava stiffened into rock. It is now the bea- 
con of the mariner ; the first that greets his glance, 
and the last that fades upon his eye. Against its 
base the broad Pacific heaves its swelling strength ; 
but it will stand unshaken till the pillars of nature's 
vast fabric fall. 

We passed, on our return, the king's chapel, a 
spacious edifice, of one hundred and fifty-four feet 
by seventy-eight. It is reared of coral rock, hewn 
into uniform blocks, and impresses you with its ar- 
chitectural sobriety and strength. The interior of 
its high walls is relieved by a substantial gallery, 
while the ample area of its floor presents to the eye, 
in the form of seats, the varied means and ingenuity 
of their occupants. The pulpit is the same which 
once gravely dignified the central church in New 
Haven, Conn., but which a more fastidious taste re- 
cently set aside. It answers its sacred design very 
well here. Sinners are converted under its drop- 
pings just as readily as if the marbles of Carrara 
gleamed from its panels. The truth of God falls 
29* 



342 DECK AND PORT. 



with the same power in the sumptuous shrine of the 
prince and the wigwam of the savage. The towers 
of the triple crown, and the tent of the Arab, tremble 
alike beneath its force. 

The sun had set before we reached our home. 
The bustle through many of the streets had subsided ; 
but the loud words and laughter of the crowd that 
had gathered to witness the approach of a strange 
sail, came floating on the wind. The hour of ten is 
announced by a gun from the fort, — a signal for the 
keepers of pulperias and places of amusement to 
close their doors. The king himself, if abroad, though 
engaged in a game of chess, would forego the triumph 
of a checkmate, and return to his palace. He aims, 
in this particular at least, to maintain a wholesome 
regulation through the influence of his own example. 
Prouder potentates may laugh at this punctilio of his 
Hawaiian majesty, but were they to imitate it, their 
thrones would be quite as safe and their subjects 
quite as virtuous. A good example is like a guinea, 
which shines just as bright, however deep and dark 
the mine from which it came. Our wisest lessons 
often come from our inferiors, as the choicest fruit is 
frequently found on the humblest shrub. The con- 
dor may dwell in the lofty steeps of the mountain, 
but it is to the modest thrush or meadow-lark that 
we turn for a gush of music. 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 343 



Wednesday, June 17. Mr. Damon and myself 
took horses this morning for Ewa, lying in a valley, 
which opens on the sea, and distant some twelve 
miles. Our horses were in fine spirits, and started 
off at a hand-gallop, across the broad lagoon, which 
skirts the western extremity of the town. Over this 
fertile interval swell many round knolls, crowned with 
kanacka huts, and surrounded with thrifty taro patches. 
Ascending the spur of a mountain range, a deep, green 
valley opened on the right, through which a winding 
rivulet babbled, and where herds were seen cropping 
the grass, or ruminating in the shade. From its 
bosom rose the walls of a spacious enclosure, into 
which the cattle, horses, and sheep are driven at 
night, — to protect them, as one would suppose, from 
ravenous beasts ; but there are none in the island : 
the object is to keep them from straying off among 
the mountains, and becoming too wild for domestic 
purposes ; for every thing here runs instinctively to 
wildness. 

Further on, we passed upon the left a lofty rock, 
over the steep stern face of which a convolvulus had 
spread its verdure, throwing out its green leaves and 
delicate blossoms, like smiles on the face of a hypo- 
chondriac. Here we met a native driving two large 
pigs to market, and carrying a third lashed to his 
back. I expected to hear a squeal at least from his 
living knapsack ; but the mouth had been tied up, 



344 DECK AND PORT. 



leaving only room through the nostril for air. When 
the pig is to be killed, no knife is drawn, no blood 
taken ; but this cord around the nose is tightened till 
respiration ceases, and death ensues. Rather a hard 
end awaits the poor pig, whether it come by knife or 
cord ; and yet no other animal, in his last struggles, 
has so little sympathy. That he is uncomely, is most 
true, but he did not select his own shape ; and true 
it is, that his habits are not quite neat, but he has 
been turned out of doors, and left to shirk and shack 
for himself. It was not his fault that the devil once 
got into him, and run him down a steep ledge into 
the sea. The devil leads his betters to a much worse 
place. I see not therefore why all feeling should be 
denied the pig in death. But let that pass. 

Proceeding on, we soon reached the precipice 
which overhangs the deep ravine, through which the 
Pearl river holds its exulting course. Here we might 
have stopped ; but our horses, which well understand 
these difficult paths, and are as sure of foot as the 
chamois, wound down the steep, and hurried, with 
clattering hoof, over the bridge which spans the rush- 
ing stream ; and then swept up the opposite eleva- 
tion at the top of their speed. Ewa now broke on 
the eye, swelling from a wide verdant plain, embow- 
ered in shade, and looking out on the sea. A wind- 
ing path, which obeyed the curve of the shore, took 
us into the heart of the little village, where we alight- 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 345 

ed at the door of our venerable host, the Rev. Mr. 
Bishop. 

This devoted missionary was at the time with his 
sable flock in the church, where he meets them once 
a week, independent of the Sabbath. They look up 
to him with feelings which only goodness can merit 
and reverence inspire ; and well may they paty him 
these tokens of love and respect. He has been long 
with them, restraining their wild propensities, train- 
ing them to habits of industry, and leading them to 
the path of immortal life. . This is with him a labor 
of love. The stipend allowed him by our Board of 
Foreign Missions is all spent in maintaining schools 
and destitute places of worship. He lives on the 
proceeds of a dairy, which his good wife manages. 
If this be not Christian benevolence, will some oppo- 
nent of the missionary enterprise tell me what is. 

The house of Father Bishop, as he is familiarly 
called, is a plain, one-story building, with a rude porch 
running around it, covered with the vines of the 
creeping-grape. It stands in the midst of fruit and 
shade trees, which thr.ow their shadows to the verge 
of a garden, where the varied plants of a tropical 
clime are in luxuriant bloom. Yet every thing 
seemed as free of display and mechanical arrange- 
ment as if its -growth had been spontaneous. The 
family consisted of Mrs. B., two sprightly native 
children, whose mother had recently died, and a ka- 



346 DECK AND PORT. 



nacka domestic. At two o'clock we sat down to 
dinner, which consisted of mullet, presented our host 
by a native chief, and a turkey of his own raising. 
Then came figs and milk, with the fruits of his gar- 
den. All presenting a pleasing specimen of pastoral 
life. 

After a siesta, to which the climate here inclines 
one, w T e rambled over the parsonage, among the neat 
huts of the natives, and, at about two hours to sunset, 
took our departure. We soon fell in with a herd of 
cattle, which two or three noisy kanackas on horse- 
back were driving to their enclosure for the night. 
When a beast attempted to break away, one of these 
started in pursuit ; and instead of heading off the an- 
imal, brought him up with the lasso, which he 'threw, 
with surprising dexterity, over his horns. In one of 
the narrow runnels which crosses the last lagoon, we 
found a horse, which had missed his step on the two 
logs which compose the bridge. The channel was 
only broad enough to let in the length of the horse, 
and on each bank stood a kanacka, the one hold of 
the bridle, the other hold of the tail, trying to lift the 
animal out. We told one of them to jump in and 
turn the head of the horse up stream, and the other 
to drop the tail and take his whip. These orders 
obeyed, the animal gave a spring, and was soon out 
of his difficulties. 

We reached home before dark: we had rode 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 347 

twenty-four miles on a road running over steep 
ledges, across deep ravines, and around toppling 
crags : I was bruised and fatigued, and determined 
to try, before retiring to rest, the bath and the " lomi- 
lomi." The latter is a kind of shampooing much re- 
sorted to here to relieve fatigue. A kanacka who 
understood it was at hand, and, on my coming out 
of the bath, commenced his kneading process. He 
used me much as a baker would a lump of dough. 
He worked me into this shape, then into that, then 
into no shape at all. My limbs became flat, or 
round, or neither, at his will. My muscles were all 
relaxed, and my joints seemed to have lost a sense of 
location. He put me back into the shape in which 
I came from nature's mould, and I sunk to sleep soft- 
ly as an infant in its cradle. Ye who take to ano- 
dynes and inebriating potations to relieve a sense of 
pain, restlessness, or fatigue, try the lomi-lomi. 



348 



CHAPTER XII. 

SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 

THE KING AND COURT. AMERICAN COMMISSIONER. — ROYAL RESIDENCE. — 

THE SALT LAKE. SURF SPORTS OF THE NATIVES. GALA DAY. THE WO- 
MEN ON HORSEBACK. SAILOR'S EQUESTRIANISM. THE OLD MAN AND THE 

CHILDREN AT PLAY. ADDRESS OF COM. STOCKTON. CAPT. LA PLACE. 

HIS JESUITS AND BRANDY. LORD GEORGE PAULET. 

Thursday, June 18. To-day, at twelve, the offi- 
cers of the Congress, and Captain Harrison, of the 
schooner Shark, assembled at Commodore Stockton's 
rooms, and proceeded in a body to the royal palace. 
The object was the installation of Mr. Ten Eyk in 
his new functions as United States Commissioner at 
this court. We were received, on our arrival, by a 
small guard posted at the palace, and conducted into a 
spacious central hall. From this we were ushered into 
a large saloon, rather plainly furnished, but light and 
airy. In front of us stood the king, with the heir- 
apparent and high chiefs on the right, and his cabinet 
on the left. 

Ex-commissioner Brown advised his majesty of his 
recall, and introduced his successor, Mr. Ten Eyk, 
who presented to the king an autograph letter from 
the President of the United States, which he accom- 
panied with some appropriate remarks. These were 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 349 

followed by a brief address from Commodore Stock- 
ton, in which he expressed the earnest hope that un- 
interrupted amity might prevail between the two 
countries. He assured the king of the lively interest 
felt in the United States for the successful issue of 
all his majesty's plans and purposes for the benefit of 
his people, and pledged the cordial support of our 
government in any aggressive emergencies, which 
might threaten the tranquillity and integrity of his 
realm. 

To each of these addresses the king made a brief 
and pertinent reply. Not having sufficient confi- 
dence in his English, he spoke in the native lan- 
guage, — his minister of finance, Mr. Judd, acting as 
interpreter. There was no parade, or affectation of 
court phraseology in what he said. His language 
was remarkable for its directness and simplicity. 
His reply concluded with these words : " Commo- 
dore, I thank you for your visit to our islands; 
your words will long be remembered ; may you be 
happy." The king is about thirty-four years of age, 
of a stout frame, dark complexion, and with good hu- 
mor, rather than strength of intellect, betrayed in his 
features. He wore a blue military uniform, with 
gold epaulettes and sword. The prince and chiefs 
were without any badge of distinction, except a star 
worn on the breast. Their costume was all in the 
European style. The cabinet, consisting of the min- 

30 



350 DECK AND PORT. 



ister of finance, the minister of foreign affairs, the 
minister of instruction, and the attorney-general, all 
of whom, except the second, are Americans, were in 
plain garb. You see more parade at Rome in five 
minutes, when the Pope steps from the Vatican into 
St. Peter's, or a red-stockinged cardinal enters his 
carriage, than you would here in six months. 

The king confides the affairs of government very 
much to his ministers. Succeeding to power at an 
early age, without a political education, or establish- 
ed principles of action, his policy would be incon- 
sistent and wavering, but for the steady influence of 
those around him. He evinces his moderation in 
foregoing the dictates of an arbitrary will, and con- 
sulting the judgments of those whose intelligence 
and experience have given them a broader scope of 
vision. The foreigners who have settled in his 
island, and who seek to undermine the influence of 
his counsellors, are the most subtle and dangerous 
enemies with which he has to contend. Their selfish 
and mischievous dispositions are masked under pro- 
fessions of friendship. They talk of changes for the 
the better, but they aim at revolution. They are 
willing to run the hazard of the great political earth- 
quake, for the chance of being hove into stations 
of emolument and power. But if the present social 
fabric falls, they will be buried in its ruins ; and 
there they may lie, sepulchred under the horrors of 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 351 

a betrayed people, and the execrations of the civil- 
ized world. 

Preparations are making for the erection of a 
royal residence, which shall be in keepin^vith the 
progress of the arts in these islands. The mansion 
at present occupied by the king, is the property of 
one of his chiefs. It is built of coral ; a graceful 
portico adorns the front, and the whole is surmount- 
ed by an elegant belvidere. The grounds are ample, 
tastefully laid out, and shaded by beautiful forest 
trees. No splendid coach dashes through its ave- 
nues ; no train of servile retainers lounge in its 
shades ; no throng of parasites disturb its domestic 
quietude and social ease. 

The amusements of the king are with the bow 
and arrow, in his bowling-alley, and at his billiard- 
table. In these pastimes he is cheek-by-jowl with 
his chiefs, and any well-bred gentleman. He was 
inclined in his youth to habits of dissipation ; and 
often drained, at the expense of his dignity, the ine- 
briating bowl. But he is now at the head of a na- 
tional temperance society. He is perhaps the only 
monarch, civilized or savage, who has abjured, in 
his own example, all intoxicating drinks. Go, ye 
potentates of prouder thrones, and take a lesson of 
practical wisdom from this sable brother. 

Friday, June 19. Our ride to-day has been to the 



352 DECK AND PORT. 



Salt Lake, which lies some five miles west of the 
town, on the margin of the sea. It is cradled in the 
crater of an old volcano. You reach it by a steep 
ascent of one hundred feet, and rapid descent of as 
many more. It is the third of a mile in circuit ; and, 
standing' by its breathless margin, the rock-bound 
rim of the hollow cone soars above you in wild gran- 
deur. 

The lake is on a level with the sea, and is un- 
doubtedly fed from it through unseen fissures. The 
salt is crystalized out of the water, through a rapid 
evaporation, occasioned by the intense heat to which 
it is subjected. It steams up as if the central fires, 
which once found an escape here, were again seek- 
ing for a vent. Should they burst forth, this lake 
will be thrown sky-high ; and not only the geologist 
be bereaved of a rare curiosity, and the king deprived 
of an important source of revenue, but the kanacka 
will be obliged to eat his poi and fish without salt. 

Nothing here has amused me more than the surf- 
sports of the young chiefs. Each takes a smooth 
board, of some eight feet in length, leads it over the 
coral shallows far out into the sea, and when a tre- 
mendous roller is coming in, jumps upon it, and the 
roller carries him upon its combing top, with the 
speed of an arrow, to the shore. A young Ameri- 
can, who was among them, not liking to be outdone 
in a sport which seemed so simple, thought he would 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 353 

try the board and billow. He ventured out a short 
distance, watched his opportunity, and, as the roller 
came, jumped upon his plank, was capsized, and hove, 
half strangled, on the beach. 

" There, breathless, with his digging nails he clung 
Fast to the sand, lest the returning wave, 
From whose reluctant roar his life he wrung, 
Should suck him back to her insatiate grave." 

The young females are as fond of the water as the 
men. We passed in a boat yesterday a group of 
them sitting on the coral reef a mile out at sea. 
They were enjoying the surf, which broke over them 
with each successive billow. Now and then a 
stronger wave would sweep some of them from their 
perch, and bear them to a great distance in its whirl- 
ing foam. But they would soon swim back again 
amidst the laughter of their companions. They were 
without covering, and plunged under the water till 
our boat had got past, and then recovered their posi- 
tion on the reef; and there they sat like mermaids, 

Serene amid the breakers' roar, 

Their dark locks floating on the surge, 

Attuning shells, through which they pour 
The solemn ocean's mimic dirge. 

Saturday, June 20. Saturday here is a gala-day, 
especially the afternoon, when the natives give them- 
selves up to amusement. Every horse is in requisi- 
30* 



354 DECK AND PORT. 



tion ; and though often without saddle or bridle, has 
a rider on him, who is dashing about like an adjutant 
at a regimental training. The great plain at the east- 
ern end of the town is alive with groups that have 
collected to witness or participate in the fun. The 
variety of colors, which blended their hues in Jo- 
seph's coat, hold no comparison with the motley dyes 
which flare up here in the costume of the crowd. 
They resemble the tints of the forest, when the au- 
tumn's breath has touched its leaves with frost ; the 
foam of ocean breaking over their coral reef is not 
more tumultuous than the roar and f ush of these liv- 
ing tides. 

Here streams away a valetudinarian, whose puny 
frame has been borne to this shore like a bubble 
from some foreign clime. His light horse, fleet of 
foot, heeds his weight as little as if he were an elf 
that had left the forest to frolic on the green. His 
thin legs lie in the shadow of his stirrup-straps, while 
his sharp face peers up between the high pommel and 
stern of his saddle like a famished owl, watching be- 
tween two old turrets a lunar eclipse. 

Near him dashes on the wife of a chief, whose vast 
bulk shakes over the plunge of her strong horse as 
if the fat would fall from her sides in living flakes. 
The broad leaves of the koa tremble in the chaplet 
that encircles her head ; her great shawl floats on 
the wind like a topsail, while the vast sweep of her 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 355 

garments rolls down over her courser's sides like the 
folds of an Arab's tent. By the side of her puny at- 
tendant she shows like the full-orbed moon with a 
little star twinkling near her rim ; or like a giant oak 
with an alder in its shade ; or like a ship-of-the-line 
with a cockle-boat under her lee. 

Here sweeps past a compact figure on a horse half 
wild from the woods. His white trowsers, his blue 
roundabout, and tarpaulin with its yard of black rib- 
bon streaming over the right ear, show him to be a 
tar fresh from the deck. His hammock-blanket, with 
its nettings for a girth, serve him for a saddle ; while 
his bridle is a rope bent on a small anchor, which is 
wreathed with leaves and flowers, and which he can 
let go, when he would bring up his unkeeled craft. 
A shout follows wherever his unmanageable horse 
dashes, — unless it be among the crowd, and then 
there is such a scattering as there would be among 
sheep at the pounce of a wolf, or among pigeons at 
the swoop of the hawk. 

Foremost in a gazing group bends an aged chief, 
who has come out to see one gala day more before 
he descends to the land of shadows. He erects his 
tall stature, but not in pride, and half forgets the tufted 
wand that has long sustained his tottering years. 
He thinks not of the feathered mantle which falls 
from his shoulders, or the badges of rank which glit- 
ter on his breast. His eyes are on a group of chil- 



356 DECK AND PORT. 



dren wildly at play. Fourscore summers have shed 
their vernal honors since he was young as they, and 
yet their glee this day makes his pulses fly as if he 
were again a child. He watches their light foot- 
steps, their laughing eyes, and timid hands as they 
garland with flowers the arching horns of the old pa- 
triarch of his flock. 




"A band of children, round a snow-white ram, 

There wreathe his venerable horns with flowers ; 

While peaceful as if still an unweaned lamb, 
The patriarch of the flock all gently cowers 

His sober head majestically tame, 

Or eats from out the palm, or playful lowers 

His brow as if in act to butt, and then, 

Yielding to their small hands, draws back again." 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 357 

Sunday, June 21. I exchanged with Mr. Damon 
this morning ; he officiating on board the Congress, 
while I took his place in the Seamen's chapel. The 
frigate had the advantage in the arrangement, but I 
intend to look out for my floating parish. In the 
afternoon I was, by appointment, in the pulpit of the 
ting's chapel. The spacious edifice was crowded. 
His majesty, the court, and chiefs were present, and 
an auditory of some three thousand. They had as- 
sembled under the vague expectation that Commo- 
dore Stockton might address them, for a report to 
that effect, without the commodore's knowledge, had 
been Circulated through the town. I felt, in common 
with the missionaries, a desire that they should not 
be disappointed. But as the commodore was wholly 
unprepared, and averse to any arrangements that 
might seemingly trench upon proprieties, it was no 
easy matter to have their wishes realized. 

Backed by the Rev. Mr. Armstrong, I made a bold 
push, and, having addressed the audience for half an 
hour, through him as interpreter, on the religious en- 
terprises in our own country, which were throwing 
their light and influence into other lands, stated that 
I was aware of their desire that Commodore Stock- 
ton should address them, and that I would take the 
liberty of expressing the hope that he would gratify 
their wishes. He was sitting at the time by the side 
of the king; and while the choir were singing a 



358 DECK AND PORT. 



hymn, Mr. Armstrong descended from the pulpit and 
urged with him the public expectation. He finally 
assented, and taking the platform under the pulpit, 
commenced a train of pertinent and eloquent re- 
marks. 

He spoke of the previous condition of those around 
him, — of the dark and cruel rites in which their an- 
cestors were involved, — of the humanizing and ele- 
vating influences of that Christianity which had 
reached them, — of the philanthropy, faith, and devo- 
tedness of their missionaries, — of the destruction of 
nations where the true God was disowned, and of the 
stability of governments and institutions founded on 
the precepts and moral obligations of the Bible. He 
adjured them, by all the hopes and fears which be- 
tide humanity, to persevere in their great and good 
work of social, civil, and moral improvement. He 
urged upon them systematic industry, wholesome 
rules and regulations in their domestic economy, a 
respect for law and order, the advantages of educa- 
tion, the importance of the Sabbath-school system, 
the necessity of temperance ; and assured them, that 
in all their good endeavors they would have the 
sympathy and support of the Christian world. 

Such was the tenor of his remarks, which were de- 
livered with as much freedom and force as if they 
had been well-considered and arranged. Their effect 
was obvious in the eager attention which pervaded 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 359 

the great assemblage. At the conclusion, the king 
and the chiefs came up, and, with undisguised emo- 
tion, thanked the commodore for his address. The 
commodore may win laurels on the deck, but none 
that can bloom more lastingly than these. If there 
be consolations in death, they flow from efforts made 
and triumphs won in the cause of humanity and God. 

Monday, June 22. The forcible introduction of 
the Roman Catholic faith into these islands was art- 
fully disguised under the plea of religious toleration. 
The manifesto of La Place, acting under the author- 
ity of the French cabinet, sets forth, that, " Among 
civilized nations there is not one which does not per- 
mit in its territory the free toleration of all religions:" 
therefore he demgpfids, under the batteries of his fri- 
gate, that the Roman Catholic faith shall have ample 
scope and verge here. 

The basis of this demand is an assumption, con- 
tradicted by the most glaring facts. In countries no 
further removed than Chili and Peru, the organic 
laws of the land declare that " no religion except the 
Roman Catholic shall be tolerated;" and these laws 
are enforced. So much for universal toleration, in 
those countries where that religion is predominant, 
which La Place comes here, under the sanction of 
his government, to shoot down into the consciences 
of this people. A very expeditious mode this of ma- 



360 DECK AND PORT. 



king converts, and quite consonant with the theolo- 
gical tactics of a military propagandist. If you' 
cannot reason your religion into a man, why, shoot 
it into him. You may, it is true, in doing this shoot 
his life out; but what of that, if you shoot your creed 
in. A dead man with your creed in him, is perhaps 
better than a living one without it. 

This demand of La Place was accompanied by an- 
other, which would disparage the most petty prince 
in Christendom. It required the Hawaiian king to 
place on board the French* frigate twenty thousand 
dollars, as a guarantee that Roman Catholic priests 
shall in future be undisturbed in propagating their 
faith. These priests, it was well known, were Jes- 
uits, belonging to an order which France herself 
was at the time endeavoring to sdppress. Perhaps 
she intended the Sandwich Islands as a sort of Bot- 
any Bay for these men, whom state policy had pro- 
scribed from her own soil. They had given the 
French monarch trouble enough, and it was time his 
Hawaiian majesty should take his turn. 

Another demand, forced under the disguise of a 
treaty, was that French brandies should be admitted 
into all the Hawaiian ports, with only a duty of five 
cents on the gallon. It seemed to be thought that 
this liquor, . among all its other wonderful achieve- 
ments, would promote Christian charity, and open 
the way for the Jesuits among the natives. Brandy 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 361 

is good in cases of colic, but I never before heard of 
it as a specific against the evils of religious intoler- 
ance. But the French are a very sagacious people ; 
and if they have found in it an antidote to bigotry, 
they ought not to be deprived of 4he honor and ad 
vantage of the discovery. 

AIL these demands of the French government were 
compulsorily complied with under the batteries of an 
armed ship. The king had no alternative ; he must 
either submit, or suffer Honolulu to be levelled with 
the ground, and its helpless inhabitants driven into 
the mountains. On the one hand lay rapine and 
massacre ; on the other, Jesuits and brandy. Of the 
two evils, the king submitted to the latter. Mahom- 
et propagated his religion with the sword ; but he 
did not force on' those whom he subjugated the ele- 
ments of intoxication. It was reserved for the 
French, it seems, to discover this new ally, and give 
to shame its last blush. 

The American missionaries were arraigned, and 
denounced by the French, on the charge of having 
stimulated the king and regent of the Hawaiian isl- 
ands to measures of hostility against the introduction 
of the Roman Catholic faith. This accusation is 
met and annihilated by the well-known fact, that 
they who came here to preach that faith were sup- 
plied by these very missionaries with the books 
thiough which they obtained a knowledge of the na- 

31 



362 DECK AND PORT. 



tive language. Fanatics, filled with intolerance, 
never supply their opponents with the means of pro- 
pagating their faith. They may surround them with 
fagots, but never with books. 

The truth is, th# king and regent apprehended that 
the introduction of a new religion might produce dis- 
sensions among their people. They could not com- 
prehend why a Protestant should not be permitted to 
marry a Roman Catholic, and very naturally dreaded 
the introduction of a system which set up such ex- 
clusive pretensions. Their untutored sagacity dis- 
covered the discord which this marriage prohibition 
must of itself create. Before Roman propagandists 
raise the cry of proscription, let them accommodate 
their antiquated faith to the more liberal and enlight- 
ened spirit of the age. Let them lift the ban from 
the sacred rights of marriage, and admit the possi- 
bility of a Protestant's getting into heaven, or at 
least of throwing his shadow in ; that will save the 
Swedenborgians ! 

But the king and regent were also apprehensive 
that the images used in the forms of the Romish wor- 
ship might lead their people back again into idolatry. 
They could not see clearly any difference between 
praying to an image, or praying to a spirit through 
that image. They could not detach the substance 
from its seeming shadow, and worship the latter 
without an obtrusion of the former. My venerable 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 363 

friend, the bishop of New York, with his metaphysi- 
cal acuteness, can undoubtedly accomplish this ; but 
a poor kanacka here would be very apt to commit a 
blunder ; and this, too, 

In that dread creed, in which a truth and blunder 
Are deemed as wide as heaven and hell asunder. 

The crowning act of shame perpetrated here by 
La Place, was in his communication to the American 
consul, in which he informs that functionary, that in 
the havoc which will follow a non-compliance with 
his demands by the government, the missionaries, 
with their families, will not escape. They are sin- 
gled out as objects of special vengeance. Their 
houses are delivered over to rapine, their wives and 
daughters to pollution. This communication our 
consul should have returned indignantly to its brutal 
author, and our government should have visited the 
insult which it conveyed with the rebuke and chas- 
tisement which it merited. If we would have our 
consular flag respected, we must not allow its sanc- 
tity to be trampled upon by every insolent bravado 
of the sea. 

La Place, having achieved these triumphs, having 
bullied an unarmed government, menaced with mas- 
sacre a helpless people, intimidated the wives and 
children of the missionaries, forced on a reluctant 
community his Jesuits and brandy, and. filched all 



364 DECK AND PORT. 



the small change in circulation, took his departure, 
much to the relief of all good men, and to the great 
disappointment, no doubt, of the devil, who had fur- 
ther work for him. 

The officers of the American squadron, under the 
command of Commodore Reed, who arrived here a 
short time after the departure of La Place, issued a 
circular, from which the following is an extract :- — 

" Being most decidedly of opinion that the persons 
composing the Protestant mission of these islands are 
American citizens, and, as such, entitled to the pro- 
tection which our government has never withheld ; 
and with unwavering confidence in the justice which 
has ever characterized it, we rest assured that any 
insult offered to this unoffending class, will be prompt- 
ly redressed." 

This circular, which honors the intelligence and 
moral justice in which it had its source, is signed by 
Commodore George A. Magruder ; Lieutenants An- 
drew H. Foot, John W. Livingston, Thomas Turner, 
James S, Palmer, Edward R. Thompson, Augustus 
H. Kelly, George B. Minor ; Surgeons John Hazlett, 
John A. Lockwood, Joseph Beale ; Purser Danger- 
field Fauntleroy ; Chaplain, Fitch W. Taylor ; Pro- 
fessors of Mathematics, J. Henshaw Belcher, Alex- 
ander G. Pendleton, 

Captain La Place having succeeded so brilliantly 
with his powder-and-shot diplomacy, Lord George 



SKETCHES OF HONOLULU. 365 

Paulet, the commander of her Britannic majesty's 
ship Carysfort, thought he would try his hand at the 
business. He arrived here a short time after his 
illustrious predecessor ; but, having no Jesuits and 
brandy to introduce, it became necessary to find 
something else as a basis of action. 

In this emergency, he drummed up a set of claims 
on the government, to which he deemed its resources 
unequal, and demanded for them immediate satisfac- 
tion. To his utter surprise, these claims were recog- 
nised : he had now no alternative but to bring in a 
f new set, of such a magnitude as to render all adjust- 
t ment impracticable. The government remonstrated 
against the injustice of the proceeding; but it was of 
no avail : payment must be made instanter, or the 
sovereignty of the islands surrendered. Lord George 
accordingly hauled down the Hawaiian flag, and run 
up that of her Britannic majesty. The little ships 
belonging to the government were all re-christened : 
one taking the name of Victoria ; another the Ade- 
laide ; and even the old fort was honored with a 
Georgian title. 

Dispatches were immediately sent by Lord George 
to the British ministry, informing them of the acqui- 
sition of all the Hawaiian islands to her Majesty's 
dominions. But in the mean time, Admiral Thomas, 
the senior officer of the English fleet in this sea, ar- 
rived here, in the Dublin, from Valparaiso. He re- 

31* 



366 DECK AND PORT. 



quested an interview with the king : the real diffi- 
culties were at once amicably adjusted ; the fictitious 
ones, which were the basis of Lord George's pro- 
ceeding, were thrown by the Admiral to the wind, 
and the sovereignty of the islands restored. This 
was rather an imposing ceremony. The king and 
his chiefs appeared on the plain, east of the town, 
where fifteen or twenty thousand of the inhabitants 
had assembled. Admiral Thomas entered the grounds 
under a brilliant escort of marines from his squadron. 
The standard of the king was now unfurled, and his 
flag run up on the two forts. They were saluted by 
the guns of the Dublin and Carysfort, and Kameha- 
meha III. was again on the throne of his ancestors. 

Thus ended the brilliant conquest of Lord George, 
and thus vanished his dream of empire, when touched 
by the wand of moral rectitude. He was not only 
compelled to see the Hawaiian flag restored, but' to 
salute it from his own ship, and with those very guns 
with which he had demanded its surrender under a 
threat that Honolulu should be blown sky-high. 
Verily, as the proverb hath it, " he that governs his 
own spirit, is greater than he that taketh a city." 
The conduct of Admiral Thomas was sustained by 
the British ministry, and Lord George went to the 
wall. 



367 



CHAPTER XIII. 

TASSAGE EROM HONOLULU TO .MONTEREY. 

THE MORAL PHAROS. THE MORMON JSHIP. BIBLE CLASS. THE SEA-HEN. 

OUR INSANE SAILOR. FOURTH OF JULY. FROFANENESS AT SEA. EVENING 

PRAYER-MEETING. FUNERAL.— TARGET FIRING. RELIGIOUS CONDITION 

OF THE CREW. — ANCHOR UNDER MONTEREY 

" The sea-bird wheels above the mast, 
And the waters fly below, 
And the foaming billows flashing fast 
Are leaping up the prow." 

Tuesday, June 23. We weighed anchor at day- 
light this morning, and stood out from the open bay 
of Honolulu. The breeze was fresh, and in a few 
hours Oahu presented only its volcanic peaks above 
the swell of the ocean. We cast a parting glance 
to those cliffs from which we had gazed in delighted 
wonder, and felt a sentiment allied to bereavement, 
as they faded on our vision. 

The volcanoes which threw up these mountain- 
masses have long since rested from their labors ; the 
flames which lit the savage grandeur of their craters 
are extinct ; dim ages have swept over them, and 
only the bleak monuments of their terrific energy 
remain; but Christian philanthropy, without pomp 
and parade, and in the silence of that love which 



368 DECK AND PORT. 



seeks only to solace and save, has here kindled a 
light that shall never wane. Centuries may come 
and go, and night rest upon other isles of the wide 
sea, but this light will still stream on in undying 
splendor. Beneath its beams generations will here 
go untremblingly down to the unbreathing sepulchre, 
and as this world darkens on their vision, discern 
those objects of faith which loom to light in the spirit- 
land. With the good, a shadow only falls between 
this world and the next. 

Wednesday, June 24. We have been for the last 
twenty-four hours on our starboard tack, with the 
wind from the northeast. The jagged steeps of Ka- 
nie sunk this morning in the sea over our larboard 
quarter. We are again upon the wide ocean with- 
out an object on which the eye can rest. Our frigate 
has a heavy roll ; she has in her six months' provi- 
sions, and lies too deep for the greatest speed. The 
heat is oppressive, but has been relieved by several 
refreshing showers. Our men jumped around in 
them like wild ducks in the foam of the cascade. 

The ward-room of the Congress presents an or- 
derly, well-regulated table. It has been so from the 
commencement of our cruise. Grace is said at our 
meals ; not a glass of spirits has entered our mess ; 
not a word of discord, petulance, or anger, has been 
heard. The officers are within the circle of that re 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 369 

ligious sentiment which more or less pervades the 
crew. It is religion alone that can bind passion, har- 
monize the elements of society, and render the obli- 
gations of mutual forbearance and love the abiding 
rules of action. 

Thursday, June 25. We left at Honolulu the 
American ship Brooklyn, with one hundred and sev- 
enty-five Mormon emigrants on board, bound to 
Monterey and San Francisco, where they propose to 
settle. They look to us for protection, and expect 
to land, if necessary, under our batteries. I spent 
the greater part of a day among them, and must say, 
I was much pleased with their deportment. The 
greater portion of them are young, and have been 
trained to habits of industry, frugality, and enter- 
prise. Some have been recently married, and are 
accompanied by their parents. They are mostly 
from the Methodist and Baptist persuasions. Their 
Mormonism, so far as they have any, has been super- 
induced on their previous faith, as Millerism on the 
belief of some Christians. They are rigidly strict in 
their domestic morals ; have their morning and even- 
ing prayers ; and the wind and the weather have 
never suspended, during their long voyage, their ex- 
ercises of devotion. 

Friday, June 26. We have had since we left port 



370 DECK AND PORT. 



a head wind ; but we are constantly working our 
way north through the trades into the variables; a 
few weeks since we were very anxious to get out of 
the variables, we are now equally anxious to get into 
them. But we were then sailing northwest ; our 
course now lies northeast : such is the occupation of 
the sailor. He is forever crossing and retracing his 
own track, and well would it be for him if this cross- 
ing and retracing were confined to his track on the 
deep, but unhappily it enters into the pathway of his 
moral being. He plods back in penitence and re- 
morse the space over which folly and passion blindly 
whirled him. "Facilis descensus averni, sed revocare 
hie labor, hoc opus est." 

Saturday, June 27. We have at last a slant of 
wind which has put us on our course. The Mormon 
ship must make haste if she expects to overtake us 
before we reach Monterey. It is a little singular 
that with a company of one hundred and seventy 
emigrants, confined in a vessel of only four hundred 
tons, depending on each other's activity and forbear- 
ence for comfort, unbroken harmony should have 
prevailed. They may have had their momentary 
jars, but I was assured by the captain, who is not of 
their persuasion, that no serious discord had occurred. 
They put their money into a joint stock, laid in their 
own provisions, and have every thing in common. 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 371 

They chartered their vessel, for which they pay 
twelve hundred dollars per month. It will cost them 
for their passage alone some ten thousand dollars be 
fore they disembark in California. 

Sunday, June 28. We had divine service at the 
usual hour. The subject of the sermon was the 
aversion of the world to the meekness, humility, 
and forbearance which enter into the Christian char- 
acter. Men of the world are too apt to consider these 
qualities incompatible with courage, resolution, firm- 
ness, and self-respect. But the most heroic virtues 
have been displayed in dungeons, on the rack, and at 
the stake, by martyrs to truth. He who suffered on 
the cross, triumphed over not only the malice of his 
foes, but the terrors of death. After service I met 
my Bible class, and spent an hour with them. Among 
them are some of the first seamen in the ship ; men 
whose influence extend through the whole crew ; 
several of these, there is reason to believe, have ex- 
perienced religion since we started on the present 
cruise. God grant they may persevere with unshaken 
firmness. 

I applied to-day to Captain Du Pont and Mr. 
Livingston for the apartment leading to the store- 
room, in which to hold our evening prayer-meeting. 
It was granted without any hesitation. This prayer- 
meeting commenced with three or four individuals • 



372 DECK AND PORT. 



it now embraces some fifteen or twenty, and it will 
not stop here. 

Monday, June 29. We have been in a dead calm 
all day, — the ocean slumbering about us without a 
ripple, and our dog-vane not lifting a feather. The 
lazy clouds piled themselves up in pyramids and 
castles on the sea, without a wave or breath to 
disturb their fantastic forms. The rays of the sun 
were quenched in their veils, and twilight spread 
over their summits her rosy charm. As night in her 
sable hues advanced, the moon came up and poured 
on turret and tower her tender light. Man rears 
his structures amid weariness and tumult ; nature 
erects hers in silence. When the monuments of 
man decay, ages may sigh over ' their unreviving 
relics, but when those of nature are dissolved, others 
emerge from the ruin in more exulting beauty, as 
the bird of flame from the ashes of its parent. 

Tuesday, June 30. When an aquatic fowl ap- 
pears for which the sailor has no other name, he al- 
ways calls it a sea-hen. "Several of this brood have 
been about our ship to-day, ' circling through the air, 
and resting on the sleeping sea. The head is large, 
the neck strong, the wings long and arching, and the 
plumage dark brown. We tried to hook ane of them 
with a tempting bait, but the fellow was \ >x> cunning. 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 373 

The only purpose they seemingly serve is to relieve 
the monotony of a sea-life. 

We have be^n lying now for two days in the same 
waveless berth ; our motion has not been sufficient 
to straighten our log-line. Every cloud is watched, 
but it brings no breeze. It departs like the airy vis- 
ions of childhood, and none knoweth the place of its 
rest. We are born in shadows ; live in their aerial 
folds, and vanish at last into deep night. But the 
spark of the Divinity that glows within is quenchless 
evermore. 

Wednesday, July 1. We caught to-day, with a 
hook, one of the sailor's sea-hens. It proved to be 
the brown albatros of the Pacific ; and measured ten 
feet between the tips of its wings. When brought 
on board, the fellow threw his wild glances at the 
crew, and walked about as haughtily as if sole mon- 
arch of the peopled deck. .One of the men attempted 
to trifle with his dignity, when he pounced upon him 
and severely chastised his impertinence. After be- 
ing detained an hour, we let him go to join his fe- 
male companion, who was waiting for him, on the 
wave, by the side of the ship. The albatros never 
deserts its consort in calamity. •■— •, -1 

The love which coldly wounds and kills, 
Is that which care and sorrow chills. 

32 



374 DECK AND PORT. 



Thursday, July 2. Our sailor, Lewis, who is 
touched with insanity, is again on deck. He moves 
around among the crew, but never participates in 
their amusements, or enters into conversation with 
any one. If questioned, his answers are so stern and 
brief they quell curiosity. He handles a rope as if 
there were a scorpion's fang in every strand. Only 
snatches of his history are known. He has borne 
arms ; his last exploits were at San Jacinto. He 
has the air of one in whom the feelings of a better 
nature have been turned to apathy and scorn. 

" His features' deepening lines and varying hue 
At times attract, and yet perplex the view- 
As if within that murkiness of mind 
Worked feeling, fearful and yet undefined. 
He has the skill, when cunning's gaze would seek 
To probe his heart and watch his changing cheek, 
At once the observer's purpose to espy, 
And on himself roll back his scrutiny." 

Friday, July 3. We have at last a breeze from 
the northwest, which is leading us out of this region 
of calms. Our latitude is 35° n. Our thermometer 
ranges at seventy, — rather a cool temperature, con- 
sidering that we are so near the vertical rays of a 
cloudless sun, wheeling around his northern bourne 
in his career of flame to the Line. But the tempera- 
ture of the Pacific never undergoes those extreme 
changes to which that of the same latitude in the 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 375 

Atlantic is subjected. The cause of this difference 
is probably found in the relative disproportion of sea 
and land over which the tides of the atmosphere pass 
in the two oceans. 

Three seamen came into my state-room to-day to 
converse with me on the subject of religion. They 
stated that for several weeks their attention had been 
drawn to this subject, and that they had now re- 
solved to renounce every sin, and seek an interest in 
Christ. I encouraged them in this good resolution, 
gave them books suited to their frame of mind, and 
invited them to our evening prayer-meeting. These 
are the bows of promise which span the dark tides of 
ocean. 

Saturday, July 4. This is the anniversary of 
our national independence. The crew have been 
permitted to spend it as they pleased ; no duty being 
required of them beyond what is essential to keep 
the ship on her course. Some collected themselves 
in groups, and spun patriotic yarns about naval ac- 
tions in the last war ; some sung the star-spangled 
banner ; some waxed eloquent at the idea of a war 
with Mexico, and some sat quietly mending their old 
clothes. The young were generally the most eager 
for hostilities, and seemed to think they could hew 
their way with a cutlass and a pound of pork to the 
halls of the Montezumas. 



376 DECK AND PORT. 



Commodore Stockton gave an elegant dinner to 
his officers. Many sentiments, kindled by the exam- 
ples of the glorious past, went round ; and many 
thoughts of home and hearts left behind, melted in 
an under-tone through the festivities. How venera- 
tion, gratitude, and pride, will grow in the breast of 
an American, in a distant clime, over the memory of 
those who perilled their all in the Revolution ! They 
rest in immortal remembrance amid the flowers and 
fragrant airs of earth : 



'£>' 



" By fairy hands their knell is rung, 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung." 

Sunday, July 5. Though the morning has been 
overcast with flying clouds, from which dashes of 
rain have fallen, accompanied with sudden gusts of 
wind, giving every thing the air of discomfort, and 
rendering the ship rather uneasy, yet we have had 
our regular service. The subject of the discourse 
was, Profaneness— its degrading effects, its prohibition 
in the rules of the service, its violation of the laws 
of God. 

This is the besetting sin of those who follow the 
seas, — of those who, in their helplessness, are sur- 
rounded by the most stupendous displays of omnipo- 
tent power. Yet let the ship in which it prevails 
most, be swept in a gale of shroud and mast, be dri- 
ving amid breakers against the steep rock, her guilty 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 377 

crew will fall on their knees in prayer, and call on 
Him whose name they have profaned, whose wor- 
ship they have derided, to have mercy and save. 

Our prayer-meeting has increased, so that the small 
apartment in which we have been assembling will 
not accommodate us. Capt. Du Pont, on the sug- 
gestion of Mr. Livingston, has given us the use of 
the store-room. It has been so arranged that there 
is no interference with the public stores, and no in- 
crease of hazard from additional lights. It would 
have been easy for them to have suggested difficul- 
ties ; but, thank God, they are not so inclined. They 
have extended to me every facility and every encour- 
agement in their power. Nor has any officer on 
board the ship cast an impediment in my way. Not 
a derisive remark from any. one, either in or out of 
the ward-room, has fallen on my ear. 

Monday, July 6. When we were receiving our 
crew at Norfolk, an old seaman, by the name of Bar- 
nard, applied to Capt. Du Pont to be shipped. He 
was told that he had not vigor for the hardships of 
another cruise, and kindly advis'ed to make the Na- 
val Asylum his home. But he plead the forty years 
of service which he had performed in our national 
ships so earnestly, that he was permitted to come on 
board. Though over sixty years of age, he has dis- 
charged the duties of quarter-master very well. But 

32* 



378 ' DECK AND PORT. 



recently the springs of life have been giving way, till 
at last he has been obliged to relinquish his post at 
the wheel. He could not rally again, and has sunk 
to his last repose. ' ■ . 

To-day we have consigned his remains to the 
deep. The body, wrapped in his hammock, was 
borne by his messmates up the main-hatch, along the 
line of the marine guard presenting arms, where it '■ 
was met by the Commodore and Captain. As the 
band ceased its funeral air, the burial service was 
read, the plank on which the body lay was lifted, and 
Barnard glided down to his deep rest. Over him 
roll the waters of the Pacific. 

But when the last great trump shall thrill the grave, 

And earth's unnumbered myriads reappear, 
He too shall hear the summons 'neath the wave, 

That now in silence wraps his sunless bier. 
And coming forth, in trembling reverence bowed, 
Unfold the tongueless secrets of his shroud. 

Tuesday, July 7. We have sailed since we left 
Callao about eight thousand miles without falling in 
with a single vessel,' though the Pacific is said to be ' 
sprinkled with whalers and merchantmen. The 
former pursue their vocation without any reference 
to the customary tracks of other vessels ; they set 
up their chase wherever the whale sweeps, be it to 
the Pole or the Line, and yet we have not encoun- 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 379 

tered one of them. Out of the thousand, not one has 
come within the range of our vision. This gives one 
some idea of the immensity of the Pacific. A ship in 
it is like a meteor in the unconfined realms of space 

Wednesday, July 8. We have had general 
quarters, with the exercise of the crew at the guns, 
almost every day since we left Honolulu. Mexican 
papers were received there, the day before our de- 
parture, stating that hostilities had commenced be- 
tween that country and the United States, on' the 
Texan line. We doubted the correctness of the 
information, but put to sea at once, that we might 
be off Monterey in season for any service which the 
possible exigency might require. 

To-day we have been practising at target firing. 
This fictitious foe made his appearance on a platform 
buoyed up by eight empty casks at a distance, vary- 
ing with the action of the sea and wind, of from one 
to two miles. The firing commenced on the larboard 
side, ancfwas restricted to one round from each gun. 
It was found that the shot, though the guns had been 
elevated one degree, struck the water short of the 
mark. An order was therefore given to elevate the 
guns two degrees, and to be careful to fire on an 
even keel. This brought the target within a point- 
blank range ; and the shot whistled past it, grazing 
this side and that. 



380 DECK AND PORT. 



We now tacked ship, and gave the starboard lads 
a chance. Their shot struck with sufficient accuracy 
for all practical purposes in a naval engagement, and 
the target, though bobbing up and down on the sea 
as a frightened thing of life, very narrowly escaped. 
The whistling, whizzing sound made by a huge bail 
in its passage through the air, is like nothing else 
that I have ever heard. It seems to carry in its very 
tone an import of the destructive errand upon which 
it is sent. This ominous voice, however, in the ex- 
citement and thunders of an engagement, is never 
heard. The warning and the havoc come together, 
twins in life and death I 

Thursday, July 9. We have made, for the last three 
days, but very little progress towards our port. The 
wind has been extremely light and baffling, breathing 
and dying away at all points of the compass. The at- 
mosphere has had that peculiar property which mag- 
nifies every object of vision. The moon hung on 
the horizon this evening with a breadth of circle 
which attracted the attention of all on board ; the 
stars seemed to have extended their glowing verge, 
the sea-bird to have enlarged its dusky forjn as it 
floated dimly in the pale light, while the wing of 
the cloud threw its vast shadow on the sleeping sur- 
face of the sea. We heard 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 381 

" ISTot a sound, save the surge of the ship 
As she lazily rolls to and fro, 
And the sails as they listlessly flap, 
And the creak of the rudder below." 

Friday, July 10. We have had to-day a light but 
steady breeze on our starboard quarter. Our stud- 
ding-sails have been set for the first time since we 
left Honolulu. We are now within nine hundred 
miles of our port. All are engaged, some in ship's 
duty, some in acquiring Spanish, some in writing 
letters home ; while the crew, as they come off 
watch, occupy their time with books from the libra- 
ry. Sailors will read if you furnish them with books 
suited to their tastes and habits. Give them narra- 
tives, history, biography, and incidents of travel. In 
these sketches virtues may be shadowed forth that 
will win reverence and love, and the results of vice 
unfolded with repelling power. But all this requires 
care in the selection ; this duty properly devolves on 
the chaplain ; it is for him to elevate and mould the 
moral sentiments of those around him. If he is not 
equal to this, he should not put his foot on the decks 
of a man-of-war. 

Saturday, July 11. Our light aft wind has left 
us, and we have in its stead a heavy sea, rolling in 
from the west. There must have been a tremendous 
blow in that quarter. Our ship rolled last night as 



382 DECK AND PORT. 



she did off* Cape Horn. Every thing in the ward- 
room and steerage which had not been secured, 
rushed about in crashing confusion. The candle- 
sticks leaped from the sideboard, a tray of knives and 
forks followed, while a water-tank flew from one 
bulkhead to another, as if determined to dash in its 
own staves. The front board of my berth had been 
taken out to admit more air, and I had no sooner 
dropped asleep, than out I rolled on the floor ; and 
well was it for me that I did, for I was no sooner out 
of my berth than my library tumbled in. What sin- 
gular feelings, half vexatious and half ludicrous, one 
has gathering himself up from such a tumble ' 

Sunday, July 12. The weather has been too 
stormy, and the roll of the ship too heavy, for reli- 
gious service on deck. We have had a prayer- 
meeting in the store-room. The attendance was 
voluntary, but the large apartment was filled. A 
good number of our sailors are earnestly seeking re- 
ligion, and several hope they have found it. I meet 
them every evening from eight to nine o'clock. 
They speak in these meetings with much frankness 
of their previous evil courses, and of their resolution 
to abandon them and seek Christ. Those who have 
obtained light and comfort, encourage others, and 
pray for them with an earnestness which shows their 
heart is in the work. Every evening some two or 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 383 

three new ones join us. Among them are some of 
the first sailors we have. 

The effect of this on the discipline of the ship is too 
marked to escape observation. There is no disobe- 
dience and no punishment. Each performs with 
alacrity the duties of his station. It would seem as 
if we might throw every instrument of correction and 
coercion overboard ; their requirement, for the pres- 
ent at least, has ceased. Give me the religious sen- 
timent in a crew, and you may sink your hand- 
cuffs, cats, and colts in the depths of ocean. They 
who, under the hypocritical cry of church and state, 
would deprive our seamen of these influences, have 
steeled their hearts to the first instincts of humanity. 
Their religion, if they have any, is cruel as the grave. 

Monday, July 13. The following note, which I 
received last evening from one of our quarter-gun- 
ners, a stanch sailor, derives its interest from the 
fact that he followed it up with an attendance at our 
prayer-meeting. 

U. S. Frigate Congress, July 12, 1846. 
Dear Sir :— 

With feelings of sincere regret for the error I made on 
the night of the 11th, by using profane language in your 
hearing, I do humbly crave your pardon, and I do assure 
you, had I known you were present at the time, such lan- 
guage would never have been used by me. I am aware I 



384 DECK AND PORT. 



can make no excuse for the crime of swearing : it is, as yoi. 
have truly said, the force of habit, which should have been 
checked by me years ago. No man inside this ship is more 
indebted to an all-merciful God than I am, for I have been 
totally shipwrecked in the course of my sea-life four differ- 
ent times, and been preserved when some of m}>- shipmates 
met a watery grave ; and still I sin greatly, daily, hourly, 
in spite of all my resolutions to the contrary. 

Yours obediently. 

Tuesday, July 14. We were tumbled out of our 
dead calm by a roaring northwester, and have been 
driven by it two hundred and thirty-five miles in the 
last twenty-four hours. We have six months' provi- 
sions, and four months' water, on board, and have 
been logging eleven and twelve knots. A ship that 
can do this under these circumstances, and close- 
hauled, 1 must be a good sailer. We are now within 
two hundred and twenty miles of our port; and if 
this wind continues, shall probably anchor under 
Monterey to-morrow. Whether it be for hostilities 
or for peace, we know not ; but we are prepared for 
either. 

Wednesday, July 15. > The wind continued very 
fresh through the night. Not wishing to make the 
land till daylight, we furled our top-gallant sails, 
hauled up our courses, double-reefed our topsails, and 



PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY. 385 

still run eight knots. As day dawned, Point Pinos 
rose fifteen miles directly ahead of us. But as the 
first rays of the sun tipped its forest-tops with flame, 
a bank of fog rolled between. Not a vestige of the 
coast was seen for hours ; and we wore ship, and 
stood out to sea. 

It was nearly noon before the fog lifted. We then 
made sail, and in two hours rounded Point Pinos, and 
entered the harbor of Monterey. We discovered at 
anchor the U. S. frigate Savannah, bearing the broad 
pennant of Commodore Sloat; the U. S. sloop-of- 
war Cyane, Captain Mervin ; and the U. S. sloop-of- 
war Levant, Commander Page. We run up the red 
pennant, and saluted the blue of Commodore Sloat 
with thirteen guns, which were returned by the Sa- 
vannah. As we rounded under her stern for our 
berth, her band struck up " Hail Columbia !" We 
came to anchor, in graceful style, outside the Cyane. 

Here will we rest, and let the winds rave oa 




33 



386 



CHAPTER XIV. 
GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA'. 

SAILORS ON SHORE AS SOLDIERS. THE BEAR FLAG. — CAPT. FREMONT AND 

HIS ARMED BAND. — DEPARTURE OF ADMIRAL SEYMOUR. SAN FRANCISCO. 

ASPECTS OF THE TOWN. HABITS OF THE PEOPLE. THE GOLD-DIGGER. — 

SPIRIT OF SPECULATION. — GAMBLING. EFFECTS OF THE GOLD MINES.- 

PAST AND PRESENT CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 

The peak where burns the blush of morn, 

The glen in which a torrent rolled, 
The crater where the Deil was born, 

Are hemmed and stratified with gold ; 
And e'en the quartz, which bind the shore, 
Sweat out at times the precious ore. 

Thursday, July 16. The Cyane warped out of 
her berth this morning, and we warped into it. Our 
ships are now moored in line, command the anchor- 
age, and present a very warlike appearance. 

This afternoon a large ship was discovered round- 
ing Point Pinos. She entered the harbor under a 
cloud of canvas, and proved to be the Collingwood, 
bearing the broad pennant of Admiral Seymour. She 
came to anchor outside the Congress and Savannah. 
Our band greeted her with " God save the Queen," 
which she returned with " Hail, Columbia." She is 
an 80 gun ship, and looks majestic on the wave. 
The Admiral was greatly surprised to find Monterey 
in possession of the Americans. 

Commodore Sloat, having received information at 



Mifc > 




GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 387 

Mazatlan, through the public press, that our advanced 
posts on the Rio Grande had been attacked by a 
Mexican force, sailed immediately for this port. On 
his arrival the town was taken without any conflict, 
the flag run up and saluted with twenty-one guns 
from each ship of the squadron. A proclamation was 
then issued by the commodore, informing the inhabit- 
ants of the bases of his proceedings, and invoking 
quietude as the condition of security and repose ; 
while our own men, who had been stationed on shore, 
were strictly enjoined not to molest the citizens in 
their lawful occupations. 

Friday, July 17. The bay of^Monterey circles 
up broad and deep into the coast. It is far from be- 
ing land-locked, and yet the southern bend is suffi- 
ciently sheltered to afford a safe and quiet anchorage. 
The town is built within a circling range of forest- 
feathered hills, and on a plain that descends in easy 
slopes to the strand of the bay. A more inviting pic- 
turesque location for a city never entered a poet's 
dream. The buildings are reared of adobes, covered 
with a white layer of lime ; they are seldom over one 
story and a half, and are ornamented with porticoes 
running the entire front. The streets are broad but 
irregular, and the hills around connect themselves 
with the gleaming walls of cottages which as yet ex 
ist only in your imagination. 



38.8 DECK AND PORT. 



The U. S. sloop-of-war Portsmouth, J. B. Mont- 
gomery commander, is at San Francisco; the War- 
ren, J. B. Hull, commander, is at Mazatlan. Our 
flag is now flying over Monterey, San Francisco, 
Sonoma, and Sutter's Fort. No formidable attempt 
has been made by the Californians to recapture any 
of these positions. The great body of the inhabit- 
ants seem but little inclined to take up arms. They 
have no great affection for Mexico, or reverence for 
the' military chieftains whom she has sent to govern 
them. 

Our marine guard, commanded by Lieut. Zelin, 
and fifty sailors under the command of Lieut. Tilgh- 
man, left our ship to-day for duty on shore. It is 
amusing to see Jack with a carbine in his hand ; he 
don't know what to do with it, whether to carry it in 
one hand or both, at his side or on his shoulder. 
When posted as a sentinel, he always forgets the 
countersign of course, and if a man looks pretty hon- 
est, allows him to pass ; but if he comes in some mys- 
terious shape, he may expect to be shot. One on an 
outpost last night, hearing a rumpling sound among 
the dry leaves, and catching glimpses, by the pale 
moonlight, of a form gliding behind this bush and 
that, instead of hailing, " Who comes there ?" cried 
out, "A bloody Indian !" and let off his carbine. The 
guard, hearing the report, rushed immediately to the 
spot, where they found a bullock, which had narrow- 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 389 

ly escaped our sentinel's bullet. Jack, when shown 
his horned antagonist and rebuked for his precipitan- 
cy, gruffly replied, that it was impossible to make out, 
in the night and among the bushes, what sort of a 
craft was coming at him, and he thought it best to 
get the first fire. 

Saturday, July 18. The whole of California is 
in a state of tumult, and was so before our squadron 
made a demonstration on Monterey. The jealousy 
of the government had been roused by the arrival of 
a fresh body of emigrants, who had located them- 
selves on the Sacramento, and by the movements of 
Capt. Fremont, whose scientific projects a disturbed 
imagination had converted into revolutionary pur- 
poses. The emigrants were ordered out of the coun- 
try, with Capt. Fremont and his exploring party ; and 
measures adopted to enforce the mandate. But the 
indomitable captain and the emigrants were not thus 
to be ousted or overawed. They had the Anglo- 
Saxon blood in them, and decided that a man has a 
right to live where he pleases on this green earth of 
God's. 

They ran up a flag sufficiently significant of their 
intentions, — a white field, red border, with a grizzly 
bear eyeing a single star, which threw its light on the 
motto, " The Republic of California." To this flag and 
its fortunes they pledged themselves in mutual confi- 
33* 



390 DECK AND PORT. 



dence, and though a band of only two hundred, pushed 
their measures so vigorously that Gen. Castro, with a 
force of three times their numbers, retreated before 
their resolute positions. They are now within the de- 
partment of Monterey, and their arrival is looked foi 
hourly. Such in brief is the history of the Bear flag, 
and of that courageous organization which set the 
ball of Anglo-Saxon supremacy rolling in California. 

Sunday, July 19. We had divine service at the 
usual hour. The object of th^e sermon was a plain 
illustration of the text, " The way of transgressors is 
hard." The every-day life of the sailor is a living 
commentary on the truth of this significant proverb. 
The hardships of his lot have generally been entailed 
upon him by a career of folly. The recitals of his 
errors, which are often poured into my ears, are full 
of painful interest. I greatly fear the novelties of the 
shore, and the excitements which reach us every day 
from all quarters, will dissipate that religious concern 
which has prevailed of late among our crew. 

Monday, July 20. Captain Fremont and his armed 
band, with Lieut. Gillespie of the marine corps, ar- 
rived last evening from their pursuit of Gen. Castro. 
They are two hundred strong, all well mounted, and 
have some three hundred extra horses in;their train. 
They defiled, two abreast, through the -principal street 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 391 

of the town. The ground seemed to tremble under 
their heavy tramp. The citizens glanced at them 
through their grated windows. Their rifles, revolv- 
ing pistols, and long knives, glittered over the dusky 
buckskin which enveloped their sinewy limbs, while 
their untrimmed locks, flowing out from under their 
foraging caps, and their black beards, with white 
teeth glittering through, gave them a wild savage as- 
pect. They encamped in the skirts of the woods 
which overhang the town. The blaze of their watch- 
fires, as night came on, threw its quivering light into 
the forest glades, and far out at sea. Their sentinels 
were posted at every exposed point; they sleep in 
their blankets under the trees, with their arms at 
their side, ready for the signal shot or. stir of the 
crackling leaf. 

For let a footstep, scarce as loud 

As falls the winter's flake. 

Approach their tents, they wake, 
And spring like lightning from the cloud. 

Tuesday, July 21. The Levant has been ordered 
to be ready for sea with all dispatch. She is to take. 
Commodore Sloat^to Panama, where he crosses the 
Isthmus for. the United States. His measures here 
involve some responsibility, as no authentic intelli- 
gence of a declaration of war has reached us. But 
. his motives have been high and patriotic, and his ae- 



392 DECK AND PORT. 



tion opportune in the event of national hostilities. 
The command will now devolve on Commodore 
Stockton ; what he will do with the California ques- 
tion, remains to be seen. Among the persons whose 
influence is felt in these affairs, stands T. O. Larkin, 
Esq., U. S. Consul for many years in this province, 
and of whose services I shall have occasion to speak 
hereafter. 

Wednesday, July 22. Captain Fremont's band 
of riflemen visited our ship to-day, and lunched ^with 
us. Many of them are trappers from the interior 
wilds, who have never seen a man-of-war before. 
They looked at our frowning battery with a wonder 
for which their trap dialect had no expression. The 
Indians connected with the body, wanted to know 
how such an immense mass could be put on the 
trail. We pointed to our sails, clewed to the yards ; 
they shook their heads in incredulity. They seemed 
. to think there must be some invisible monster in the 
hold, whose terrific energies caused the ship to go. 
Our band played some of their most spirit-stirring 
airs, but, they had as little effect on these children of 
the wild as the song of the grasshopper. The article 
which seemed to interest them most, was the rifle of 
Commodore Stockton; they handled it with that 
yearning fondness which a mother feels clasping her 
first-born. 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 393 

Thursday, July 23. The Collingwood sailed to- 
day for the Sandwich Islands. Many of her officers 
had clothes on shore in the hands of washerwomen ; 
they were hurried off, some half ironed, some half 
dry, and some in the suds. Such are the accidents 
which await- the linen of one connected with a na- 
tional ship. He may think himself fortunate if he 
recovers his clothes at all ; they are often left as con- 
tingent remainders in a man's will. 

The Collingwood has offered us no molestation . 
Admiral Seymour is an officer of great amenity of 
deportment, — has been several times on board the 
Congress : he was much impressed with the force of 
our battery, and says our ship is the most powerful 
frigate afloat in the world. The Admiral and most 
of his officers are connected with the English nobili- 
ty, but assume no airs, and are boon companions 
wherever met. It has been often stated by American 
writers that the Admiral intended to raise the Eng- 
lish flag in California, and would have done it had we 
not stolen the march on him. I believe nothing of 
the kind ; the allegation is a mere assumption, unwar- 
ranted by a solitary fact. He had no such instruc- 
tions from the British ministry : what the English 
might have done, had they been apprized of our de- 
signs, is another thing; what they did do, was to", 
watch our movements. When we had harpooned 



394 DECK AND PORT. 



the whale, they left us to make the most of its blub- 
ber and bones. 

Friday, July 24. Capt. Du Pont left us to-day to 
take command of the Cyane — a fine ship, well offi- 
cered and manned. We part with him with much 
regret ; he has been with us in gale and calm, amidst 
the ice of the Cape and on the burning Line, and 
cheerfully shared, in his own person, every hardship 
and peril. His professional knowledge and efficiency, 
with his social qualities and unblemished character, 
have won our unmeasured confidence and esteem. 

Mr. Livingston, our first lieutenant, succeeds to the 
command, under an * appointment from Commodore 
Stockton, and combines, with the duties of this post, 
those of executive officer. His station is one of some 
difficulty, but he is the better qualified for it by his 
previous services and thorough knowledge of the 
crew. Capt. Mervin takes command of the Savan- 
nah — a post to which he is entitled by his experience 
and rank. The officers attached to this frigate are 
an ornament to the service ; there are not wanting 
individuals among them whose religious example has 
been felt deep and wide. 

Here the publication of my journal must rest ; and 
be resumed in another volume, under the title of 
" Three Years in California." But without trenching 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 395 

on the incidents sketched in that volume, I may- 
glance at a few local circumstances which recent 
events have thrown into remarkable prominency. 
The geographical features of the country will be de- 
scribed in their proper place ; I turn from these to a 
point which looms up, in the fancy at least, like a 
headland on which a rosy twilight has poured its 
golden charm. 

The bay of San Francisco resembles a broad in- 
land lake, communicating by a narrow channel with 
the ocean. This channel, as the tradition of the abo- 
rigines runs, was opened by an earthquake which a 
few centuries since convulsed the continent. The 
town is built on the south bend of the bay, near its 
communication with the sea. Its site is a succession 
of barren sand-hills, tumbled up into every variety of 
shape. No levelling process, on a scale of any mag- 
nitude, has been attempted. The buildings roll up 
and over these sand ridges like a shoal of porpoises 
over the swell of a wave, only the fish has much 
the most order in the disposal of his head and tail. 
More incongruous combinations in architecture never 
danced in the dreams of men. Brick warehouses, 
wooden shanties, sheet-iron huts, and shaking tents, 
are blended in admirable confusion. 

But these grotesque habitations have as much uni- 
formity and sobriety as the habits of those who occu- 
py them. Hazards are made in commercial transac- 



396 DECK AND PORT. 



tions and projects of speculation, that would throw 
Wall-street into spasms. I have seen merchants pur- 
chase cargoes without having even glanced into the 
invoice. The conditions of the sale were a hundred 
per cent, profits to the owner, and costs. In one car- 
go, when tumbled out, were found twenty thousand 
dollars in the single article of red cotton handker- 
chiefs ! " I'll get rid of those among the wild In- 
dians," said the purchaser, with a shrug of his shoul- 
ders. " I've a water-lot which I will sell," cries an- 
other. " Which way does it stretch ?" inquire half a 
a dozen. " Right under that craft there," is the re- 
ply. " And what do you ask for it ?" " Fifteen 
thousand dollars." " I'll take it." " Then down with 
your dust." So the water-lot, which mortal eyes 
never yet beheld, changes its owners without chang- 
ing its fish. " I have two shares in a gold mine," 
cries another. " Where are they ?" inquire the crowd. 
" Under the south branch of the Yuba river, which 
we have almost turned," is the reply. " And what 
will you take ?" " Fifteen thousand dollars." " I'll 
give ten." " Take them, stranger." So the two 
shares of a possibility of gold under a branch of the 
Yuba, where the water still rolls rapid and deep, are 
sold for ten thousand dollars paid down ! Is there 
any thing in the Arabian Nights that surpasses this ? 
But glance at that large wooden building, which 
looks as if the winds had shingled it, and the powers 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 397 

of the air pinned its clapboards in a storm. Enter, 
and you find a great hall filled with tables, and a mot- 
ley group gathered around each. Some are laying 
down hundreds and others thousands on the turn of 
a card. Each has a bag 'of grain-gold in his hand, 
which he must double or lose, and is only anxious 
to reach the table where he can make the experiment. 
You would advise him at least to purchase a suit of 
clothes, or repair his old ones, before he loses his all ; 
but what cares he for his outward garb, when piles 
of the yellow dust swell and glitter in his excited im- 
agination ? Down goes his bag of gold — and is lost ! 
But does he look around for a rope or pistol that he 
may end his ruin ? No : the river bank, where he 
gathered that bag, has more ; so he cheers his mo- 
mentary despondency with a strong glass of brandy, 
and is off again for the mines. He found the gold 
by good fortune, and has lost it by bad, and now 
considers himself about even with the world. Such 
is the moral effect of gold hunting on a man whose 
principles are not as fixed and immoveable as the 
rock. It begins in a lottery and ends in a lottery, 
where the blanks outnumber the prizes ten to one. 

But you are hungry — want a breakfast — turn into 
a restaurant — call for ham, eggs, and coffee: — then 
your bill — six dollars ! Your high boots, which have 
never seen a brush since you first put them on, have 
given out : you find a pair that can replace them — 

34 



398 DECK AND PORT. 



they are a tolerable fit, and now what is the price — 
fifty dollars ! Your beard has not felt a razor since 
you went to the mines — it must come off, and your 
frizzled hair be clipped. You find a barber : his dull 
shears hang in the knots of your hair like a sheep- 
shearer's in a fleece matted with burrs — his razor he 
straps on the leg of his boot, and then hauls away — 
starting at every pull some new fountain of tears. 
You vow you will let the beard go — but then one side 
is partly off, and you try the agony again to get the 
other side something like it ; and now what is the 
charge for this torture — four dollars ! Night is ap- 
proaching, and you must have a place where you can 
sleep : to inquire for a bed would be as idle as to hunt 
a pearl in the jungle of a Greenland bear. You look 
around for the lee of some shanty or tent, and tum- 
ble down for the night ; but a thousand fleas dispute 
the premises with you — the contest is hopeless — yoi* 
tumble out as you tumbled in, and spend the remain- 
der of the night in finding a place not occupied by 
these aborigines of the soil. 

But you are not perhaps a gold-digger, as I had 
supposed ; you are a supercargo, and have a valuable 
freight, which you wish to land. You have warped 
your vessel in till her keel rakes, and yet you are sev- 
eral hundred yards off. Some lighter must be found 
that can skim these shallows ; your own boats will 
not do : after waiting two or three weeks, you get the 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 399 

use of a scow, called a lighter, for which you pay one 
hundred and fifty dollars a day. 

To-morrow you are going to commence unloading, 
and wake betimes ; but find that during the night ev- 
ery soul of your crew has escaped, and put out for the 
mines. You rush about on shore to find hands, and 
collect eight or ten loafers, who will assist you for fif- 
teen dollars a day each. Your cargo must be landed, 
and you close the bargain, though your fresh hands 
are already half-seas over. The scow is shoved from 
shore, brought alongside, loaded with goods, which 
are tumbled in as an Irishman dumps a load of dirt, 
and then you up oars and poles and push for the land- 
ing ; but the tide has ebbed too soon : you are only 
halfway, and there your scow sticks fast in the midst 
of a great mud bottom, from which the last ripple of 
water has retreated. You cannot get forward, and 
you are now too late to get back : night is setting in 
and the rain-clouds are gathering fast ; down comes 
a deluge, drenching your goods, and filling your open 
scow. The returning tide will now be of no use, the 
scow won't float, except under water, and that is a 
sort of floating which don't suit you ; skin for skin — 
though in this case not dry — what will a man not 
give for his own life? So out you jump, and by 
crawling and creeping, make your way through the 
mire to the landing, and bring up against a bin, where 
another sort of wallower gives you a grunt of welcome. 



400 DECK AND PORT. 



Your loafers must be paid off in the morning, and 
the scow recovered, or its loss will cost you half the 
profits of your voyage. But the storm last night has 
driven another brig into yours ; and there they both 
are, like a bear and bull that have gored and crushed 
each other. But " misery loves company," and you 
have it. The storm which swamped your scow and 
stove your brig last night, has been busy on shore. 
Piles of goods heaped up in every street, are in a 
condition which requires wreckers as well as watch- 
men. But no one here is going to trouble himself 
about your misfortunes, nor much about his own. 
The reverses of to-day are to be more than repaired 
by the successes of to-morrow. These are only the 
broken pickaxes and spades by which the great # mine 
is to be reached. What is the loss of a few thousands 
to one who is so soon to possess millions ? Only a 
coon back in his hole, while the buffalo remains 
within rifle-shot, — only a periwinkle lost, while the 
whale is beneath the harpoon, — only a farthing can- 
dle consumed, while the dowered bride, blushing in 
beauty and bliss, is kneeling at the nuptial altar. But 
let that pass. 

But you are not alone in your destitution and dirt. 
There are hundreds around you who were quite as 
daintily reared, and who are doing out here what 
they dodged at home. Do you see that youth in red 
flannel shirt and coarse brogans, rolling a wheelbar- 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 401 



row ? He was once a clerk in a counting-house in 
New York, and came here to shovel up gold as you 
scoop up sand. He has been to the mines, gathered 
no gold, and returned, but now makes his ten dollars 
a day by rolling that wheelbarrow ; it costs him six, 
however, to live, and the other four he loses at 
monte. 

See you that > T oung man with a long whip in his 
hand, cracking it o v er an ox-team ? He was one of 
the most learned geologists, for his age, in the United 
States, and f &mv out here to apply his science to the 
discovery of geld deposites ; but some how his diving- 
rods alwa^ij dipped wrong — and now he has taken a 
rod about which there is no mistake, so at least think 
his csAjg. He would accumulate a fortune did he 
not Ws*e it as fast as made in some phrensied specula- 
tion. But look yonder — do you see that young gen- 
tlerren with a string of fish, which he offers for sale. 
He was the best Greek and Latin scholar of his class 
in Yale College ; and subsequently one of the most 
promising members of our bar. But he exchanged 
his Blackstone for a pick ; and instead of picking fees 
out of his clients' pockets, he came here to pick gold 
out of the mines ; but the deuce was in it, for when- 
ever his pick struck close upon a deposite, it was no 
longer there! so he exchanged his pick for a hook 
and line, and now angles for pike, pickerel, and perch, 
and can describe each fish by some apt line from Ca- 
34* 



402 DECK AND PORT. 



tullus. He would do well at his new piscatory pro- 
fession, but for the gilded hook of the gambler. He 
laughs at the trout for darting at a fictitious fly, and 
then chases a bait himself equally fanciful and false. 

But look again — do you see that pulperia, with its 
gathered groups of soldiers and sailors, poets and pol- 
iticians, merchants and mendicants, doctors and dray- 
men, clerks and cobblers, trappers and tinkers. 
That little man who stands behind the bar and deals 
to each his dram of fire, was once a preacher, and 
deemed almost a prophet, as he depicted the pangs of 
that worm which dieth not; but now he has ex- 
changed that worm for another, but preserved his 
consistency, for this worm, too, distilleth delirium and 
death. And that thick-set man who stands in the 
midst of the crowd, with ruby countenance and rev- 
elling eye, whose repartee sets the whole pulperia in 
a roar, and who is now watching the liquor in his 
glass to see if it stirreth itself aright, once lectured in 
the West on the temptations of those who tarry late 
at the wine ; but now his teetotalism covers all liquors 
as goodly gifts graciously bestowed. But one brief 
year, and some dame Quickly may describe his pale 
exit as that of his delirious prototype, — " I saw him 
fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers, and 
smile upon his fingers' ends." 

And yet with all these drawbacks — with all these 
gambling- tables, grog-shops, shanties, shavers, and 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 403 

fleas, San Francisco is swelling into a town of the 
highest commercial importance. She. commands the 
trade of the great valleys through which the Sacra- 
mento and San Joaquin, with their numerous tribu- 
taries, roll. She gathers to her bosom the products 
and manufactures of the United States, of England, 
China, the shores and islands of the Pacific. But let 
us glance at California as she was a few years since, 
as she is now, and as she is fast becoming. 

Three years ago the white population of Cali- 
fornia could not have exceeded ten thousand souls. 
She has now a population of two hundred thousand, 
and a resistless tide of emigration rolling in through 
the heart of Mexico, over the Isthmus of Panama, 
around Cape Horn, and over the steeps of the Rocky 
Mountains. Then the great staple of the country 
was confined to wild cattle ; now it is found in ex- 
haustless mines of quicksilver and gold. Then the 
shipping which frequented her waters was confined 
to a few drogers, that waddled along her coast in 
quest of hides and tallow ; now the richest argosies 
of the commercial world are bound to her ports. 

Three years ago the dwellings of her citizens were 
reared under the hands of Indians, from sun-baked 
adobes of mud and straw ; now a thousand hammers 
are ringing on rafter and roof over walls of iron and 
brick. Then the plough which furrowed her fields 
was the crotch of a tree, which a stone or root might 



404 DECK AND PORT. 



shiver ; now the shares of the New-England farmer 
glitter in her* soil. Then the wheels of her carts 
were cut from the butts of trees, with a hole in the 
centre for the rude axle ; now the iron-bound wheel 
of the finished mechanic rolls over her hills and val- 
leys. Then only the canoe of the Indian disturbed 
the sleeping surface of her waters ; now a fleet of 
steamers traverse her ample rivers and bays. Then 
not a schoolhouse ; public teacher, magazine, or news- 
paper, could be found in the whole territory ; now 
they are met with in most of the larger towns. 
Then the tastes and passions of an idle throng ran 
on the guitar and the fandango; now the calcula- 
tions of the busy multitudes turn to the cultured 
field and productive mine. Then California was a 
dependency of Mexico, and subject to revolutions 
with the success of every daring military chieftain ; 
now she is an independent state, with an enlight- 
ened constitution, which guaranties equal rights and 
privileges to all. Then she was in arms against our 
flag ; now she unrolls it on the breeze, with the star 
of her own being and pride glowing in the constella- 
tion which blazes on its folds. 

Three years ago and San Francisco contained 
only three hundred souls ; now she has a population 
of twenty-seven thousand. Then a building lot 
within her limits cost fifteen dollars ; now the same lot 
cannot be purchased at a less sum than fifteen thou- 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 405 

sand. Then her commerce was confined to a few 
Indian blankets, and Mexican reboses and beads; now 
from two to three hundred merchantmen are unload- 
ing their costly cargoes on her quay. Then the 
famished whaler could hardly find a temporary relief 
in her markets ; now she has phrensied the world with 
her wealth. Then Benicia was a pasture covered 
with lowing herds ; now she is a commercial mart, 
threatening to rival her sister nearer the sea. Then 
Stockton and Sacramento City were covered with 
wild oats, where the elk and deer gambolled at will ; 
now they are laced with streets, and walled with ware- 
houses, through which the great tide of commerce 
rolls off into a hundred mountain glens. Then the 
banks of the Sacramento and San Joaquin were 
cheered only by the curling smoke of the Indian's 
hut ; now they throw on the eye at every bend the 
cheerful aspect of some new hamlet or town. Then 
the silence of the Sierra Nevada was broken only 
by the voice of its streams ; now every cavern and 
cliff is echoing under the blows of the sturdy miner. 
The wild horse, startled in his glen, leaves on the 
hill the clatter of his hoofs, while the huge bear, 
roused from his patrimonial jungle, grimly retires to 
some new mountain fastness. 

But I must drop this contrast of the past with the 
present, and glance at a few facts which affect the 
future. The gold deposites, which have hitherto 



406 DECK AND PORT. 



been discovered, are confined mainly to the banks 
and beds of perpetual streams, or the bottoms of ra- 
vines through which roll the waters of the transient 
freshet. These deposites are the natural results of 
the laws of gravitation ; the treasures which they 
contain must have been washed from the slopes of 
the surrounding hills. The elevations, like spend- 
thrifts, seem to have parted entirely with their golden 
inheritance, except what may linger still in the 
quartz. And these gold-containing quartz will be 
found to have their confined localities. They will 
crown the insular peaks of a mountain ridge, or fret 
the verge of some extinguished volcano. They have 
never been found in a continuous range, except in 
the dreams of enchantment. You might as well look 
for a wall of diamonds, or a solid bank of pearls. 
Nature has played off many a prodigal caprice in 
California, but a mountain of gold is not one of them. 
The alluvial gold will at no distant day be meas- 
urably exhausted, and the miners be driven into the 
mountains. Here the work can be successfully pros- 
ecuted only by companies with heavy capitals. All 
the uncertainties which are connected with mining 
operations will gather around these enterprises. 
Wealth will reward the labors of the few, whose suc- 
cess was mainly the result of good fortune ; while 
disappointment will attend the efforts of the many, 
equally skilful and persevering. These wide ine- 



!Q 



48 



GLANCES INTO CALIFORNIA. 407 

qualities, in the proceeds of the miner's labor, have 
exhibited themselves wherever a gold deposite has 
been hunted or found in California. The past is the 
reliable prophecy of the future. 

Not one in ten of the thousands who have gone, 
or may go, to California to hunt for gold, will return 
with a fortune. Still the great tide of emigration 
will set there, till her valleys and mountain glens 
teem with a hardy, enterprising population. As the 
gold deposites diminish, or become more difficult of 
access, the quicksilver mines will call forth their un- 
flagging energies. This metal slumbers in her moun- 
tain spurs in massive richness. The process is sim- 
ple which converts it into that form through which 
the mechanic arts subserve the thousand purposes of 
science and social refinement, while the medical pro- 
fession, through its strange abuse, keep up a carni- 
val in the court of Death. But for this they who 
mine the ore are not responsible ; they will find their 
reward in the wealth which will follow their labors. 
It will be in their power to silence the hammers in 
those mines which have hitherto monopolized the 
markets of the world. 

But the enterprise and wealth of California are not 
confined to her mines. Her ample forests of oak, 
red-wood, and pine, only wait the requisite machine- 
ry to convert them into elegant residences and 
strong-ribbed ships. Her exhaustless quarries of 



408 



DECK AND PORT. 



granite and marble will yet pillar the domes of me- 
tropolitan splendor and pride. The hammer and 
drill will be relinquished by multitudes for the plough 
and sickle. Her arable land, stretching through her 
spacious valleys and along the broad banks of her 
rivers, will wave with the golden harvest. The rain- 
cloud may not visit her in the summer months, but 
the mountain stream will be induced to throw its 
showers over her thirsting plains. 

Such was California a few years since— such is 
she now — and such will she become, even before 
they who now rush to her shores find their footsteps 
within the shadows of the pale realm. 




